


Sisters of the Goddess

by DragonShadow



Category: The Amazing Spiez, Totally Spies
Genre: Action, Adventure, Incest, Multi, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-27
Updated: 2017-01-26
Packaged: 2018-09-20 03:37:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 52,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9473663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonShadow/pseuds/DragonShadow
Summary: The Clark clan is on their way to their latest mission when their jet suddenly takes a nose dive into the center of an uncharted forest. While Megan and the boys struggle to survive and figure out what is going on, Jerry calls on his classic team of heroes to track them down safely.





	1. A Dream and a Nightmare

A table sat in the soft glint of the moonlight. The stars were brightly shining on the balcony on which the snow white table and two chairs sat, overlooking a beautiful ocean that seemed to be twinkling perhaps even more brightly than the stars overhead. The sound of the waves lapping against the shore coupled with the smell of the salt water flowing in on the soft ocean breeze made the scene as perfect as it could be. Wrapped in nature like the twelve-year-old girl had never been before.

Megan leaned back in her seat, her sparkling purple dress glittering in the moonlight until she looked over to see a taller boy walked out of the cozy restaurant with a smile on his face. His formal black tuxedo almost made him look like a disembodied floating head in the dark night as he moved toward her, taking the seat right next to hers and setting a plate in front of her.

“For you, Megan.” Lee told her with a gentleman’s smile. He whipped the lid off the platter, revealing the biggest salad she’d ever seen drenched in ranch dressing. “The finest meal for the fairest lady.”

Megan blushed daintily and stabbed several pieces of lettuce with her fork, shoveling it into her waiting mouth. “It’s wonderful, Lee.” She smiled over at him happily. “You’ve made me the happiest girl in the world tonight.”

“Good… because you make me the happiest man in the world every night.” Lee took one of her free hands, clasping it ever-so-strongly in his own as he stared deep into her eyes. The moonlight shone off of his wet orbs, almost making him look mystical. “You would make me even happier if you would be mine forever.”

“Oh Lee… of course! I’ll always be yours…” Megan told him with a deep blush and a broad grin. “Yours in every way imaginable…”

Lee slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her up close against his side. “And I am yours… together as one… forever…” She felt his lips touch her own, a gift she accepted and returned with such eagerness she just could not get enough. His strong arms wrapped around her body, pulling her up against his strong barrel chest as his hands stroked her back through the thin cloth of her dress. She felt a tingle run down her spine.

It felt like this must surely be a dream. 

The bedroom was dark as the slender girl shot straight up into a sitting position, the bed sheet being flung off of her body from the force. Her breath came in deep gasps under the thin cloth of her pajama top as she stared at the wall in front of her, lit up by the soft silver moonlight that came from the nearby window. What was she thinking? Did she really just have that dream?

“That was just… freaky…” Megan gasped and raised one hand to her head, trying to sort out the wave of confusion that was washing over her. After a moment she gave up, and laid back down on the bed to stare at the ceiling in a vain attempt at sleep.

***

“Go long bro!” Lee leaned back and heaved as hard as he could, sending the football careening across the sky towards his smallest brother, who whirled to dart across the pavement after it. He leapt into the air, soaring over the corner of the community pool as he extended one scrawny arm to the sky. He just barely managed to catch it and land on the other side in a heavy crouch, clutching the ball against his chest like he’d just caught the world’s biggest diamond.

“Oh yeah!” Tony flipped the ball into the air with a broad grin on his face. “Who’s got game?”

“Nice one!” Lee flashed him a thumbs up. “I couldn’t have done better myself!”

“Yes, risk your life to catch the ball. That makes sense.” Marc rolled his eyes from the comfortable lawn chair set up a safe distance from the poolside as the three brothers lounged beside the otherwise unused community pool in the center of their neighborhood. His fingers had been tapping the keys of a laptop sitting on his legs, but were now paused as he looked at his two brothers over the top of his monitor. “You know there’s a good reason not to run beside the pool, right?”

“Because parents say so? Please!” Tony huffed mockingly. “You don’t have to do everything parents tell you to!” He whirled to run around the pool back towards Lee, but as he rounded the corner his foot slid out from under him on the wet cement and he slammed hard into the ground. “GAH! MY HIP! I BROKE MY HIP!”

Marc sighed as Lee rushed to help his smallest brother up with an amused look on his face. “Well, that’s one lesson learned, I suppose.” Marc blinked and looked over his shoulder when he heard the sound of flip flops walking up to the pool behind him. He saw his sister approaching in her own violet bathing suit, with a strange look on her face. “Good morning. We tried to wait for you, but you never came down this morning.”

“Yeah, sorry, I… had to deal with something.” Megan replied softly.

“Huh? Is something wrong?” Marc asked worriedly.

Megan shook her head vigorously, then flashed him a confident smile. “Nah, just a weird dream I had shook me up a little, I’m fine. Looks like Tony decided to teach himself a lesson.”

“Yes, it seems some people don’t learn lessons until they see the consequences firsthand.” Marc noted in a dull tone of voice. “And you know some psychologists believe dreams can be windows into the subconscious.”

“I really don’t want to hear that right now.” Megan noted as she watched her other two brothers by the side of the pool. Lee was wearing his usual swimming trunks, his bare and well-formed chest clearly visible in the afternoon sunlight. It was a sight Megan had seen frequently, but now her mind began to flash back to the dream she’d had just a few hours before. She couldn’t stop a heavy blush from creeping across her cheeks.

“There you go.” Lee pulled Tony to his feet and patted his shoulders. “Your hip’s not nearly as broken as your brain is.” He rubbed his fist on the top of his little brother’s head.

“Heeeyyyy!” Tony complained and batted Lee’s arm away from his head. “Anyone can slip and fall once in a while.”

“True, but there are ways to minimize the possibility.” Marc pointed out sensibly. “Like not running on wet cement.”

“Bah, whatever.” Tony folded his arms over his chest. “Anyone would have slipped there running or not. It was really, really wet!”

“Are you okay, Megan?” Lee asked curiously when he noticed her staring at him with a strange expression on her face. “Is something wrong?”

Megan’s face flushed even brighter red and she whirled away from him. “No! Go away! I’m going home!” She moved to stomp away, leaving the three boys to stare after her in stunned silence.

“Sheesh… must be that time of the month.” Lee grumbled.

“What time of the month?” Tony asked curiously. Marc and Lee exchanged a glance, then both abruptly turned to leave.

“Oh wow, we’ve been here a whole thirty minutes, I have so much to do.” Marc commented.

“Yeah, really, no time to loaf around here.” Lee echoed.

“Heeeyyyy!” Tony growled and chased after them. “Come on, what time of the month!? Is it Tuesday!?”

Their voices faded into the distance behind Megan as she made her way down the sidewalk back toward the house, her face feeling hot and uncomfortable. She couldn’t believe what she was thinking. How could she? It wasn’t right, it wasn’t natural. He was her brother, she couldn’t really… no way, Megan told herself with a deep breath. It was just a stupid dream, and now she was only nervous because of the dream. That was the end of it. Then again, Marc had said dreams were a window to her subconscious.

She stopped when she reached her house and reached for the doorknob, but her fingers were only inches from it when she found herself suddenly standing over empty air. It felt like she floated there for a good three seconds before she suddenly found herself plummeting at high speeds down a winding metal tube. She couldn’t help a reflexive scream as she felt her body slide helplessly down along the polished metal, shortly coming out on the bottom of the tube straight toward a comfortable looking sofa in a dark metal room.

She landed on her butt on the back of the couch, striking a confident pose as her three brothers landed around her, all sitting comfortably on the sofa as they looked across the room at the aging man standing behind a large metal desk.

“Good afternoon, spies.” Their boss, Jerry, said with a broad smile. “It’s good to see you remain on your toes even during your relaxation time.”

“We just have good reflexes.” Lee commented with a grin, still clad in his loose swimming trunks. “What’s up, Jerr?”

“There has been a rash of unusual robberies in a small town in the Southern part of the United States.” Jerry told them. “Your mission is to investigate them.”

“Uh…” Lee scratched the back of his head. “Not to question you Jerr… but isn’t this a little beneath us?”

“Yes, our expertise is international espionage. Local robberies seem like a problem for the local authorities.” Marc agreed.

“Normally you’d be one hundred percent correct, but these particular robberies aren’t exactly armed men with ski masks. They seem to be perpetuated by the local wildlife.”

“Yeah, okay, I’d call that worth checking out.” Megan agreed.

“They weren’t using weapons were they? A Cheetah with a gun could do some damage… and be totally awesome.” Tony admitted.

“Not that we know of, but we’ll keep an eye out.” Jerry smirked.

“Do we know what was taken?” Marc asked inquisitively.

“This is one of the more puzzling things. Most of what’s been taken thus far are regular household items. Lamps, rugs, toilet seats, even perishable foods. Here’s a complete list.” Jerry lifted several clipboards off his desk and tossed them to the spies, who caught them out of the air with ease.

“Hmmm, he’s right, I’m not sure what someone could do with all this stuff. They’re just household commodities.” Marc wondered with a finger on his chin.

“Maybe we’re dealing with an evil interior decorator.” Megan suggested.

“Or an evil hobo. All he needs now is an apartment.” Tony clapped his hands together. “Get a list of empty houses in the area, we can stake them out!”

“I’m thinking not.” Lee informed him. “Why would he take something if he didn’t already have a place to put it?”

“Huh… okay, good point…” Tony grumbled.

“Who says it’s a guy? It can’t be an evil girl?” Megan asked snappishly.

“What!? I didn’t say that!” Lee insisted.

“Hmph!” Megan crossed her arms over her chest and turned away from him. “Whatever.”

“Geeze… chill out a little will you?” Lee said nervously. “We have a mission to focus on.”

“That’s correct.” Jerry told them. “And for that mission, you will need gadgets.” He reached down to press a button on his desk, which flipped the top out of the way so several rows of shining metal things could rise up out of the desk in front of them. “You may select whatever you think you’ll require. You have ample experience at this, after all.”

“Yeah!” Megan raised her arms into the air in excitement. “I love it when we pick our own gadgets!” Moments later the spies used their MP Coms to flash into their spy uniforms and raided the gadgets on the table until there wasn’t much left sitting on it. Megan reached for the Double Agent camera sitting in the center of the desk, but blushed when she felt Lee’s intercept hers.

She snapped the gadget off the desk and whirled away from the boys to avoid showing them her slightly reddened cheeks. “We should get going!”

“Okay, seriously sis, did I do something to you this morning? I really don’t remember doing anything.” Lee demanded.

“Off you go.“ Jerry interrupted moments before the four spies found themselves sliding down another long metal tube, only to land inside the massive WOOHP jet they usually used to cover distance quickly. Megan’s breath caught in her throat when she found herself pressed up against Lee on the way down, but the moment they touched ground and shoved him away and leapt to her feet. “Ewe! Get away from me! Perv!” She whirled to march to one of the back seats.

“Wh-wha? What did I do!?” Lee demanded while Tony burst into mischievous giggles.

“Forget it bro, you should focus on flying.” Marc told him with a calming hand on his shoulder, glancing back at Megan as she plopped down into the rearmost seat in the spacious cockpit of one of WOOHP’s largest, and fastest, jets.

Lee grumbled something under his breath, but only cast Megan one more annoyed glance before turning to head towards the pilot’s seat, with Tony rushing along beside him to hop into the copilot’s position. Marc watched them for a few moments more before turning to head into the back instead, sitting himself down in the seat right beside Megan, who was pointedly staring out the window as the jet began to move towards the runway.

“It doesn’t take a high IQ to see that something’s bothering you.” Marc told her in a soft voice so the two boys in front couldn’t hear. “Did Lee do something to you?”

“No, I’m fine.” Megan snapped back irritably without looking, mostly wanting to hide the warmth spreading across her cheeks.

“You know I can keep a secret, just please, you won’t be any good to the mission if you’re like this the entire time… and I’m starting to get worried.” Marc told her. Megan didn’t look back, but she didn’t argue, just staring at the half-visible reflection of her blonde brother in the window as he stared at the back of her head with a genuine look on his face. “You have my word I won’t tell anyone, if it’s something you want to keep secret.”

Megan took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment to collect herself. “Okay… the truth is… I had a sexy dream last night…” Megan whispered in a low breath with red cheeks.

Marc blinked, then chuckled and shook his head. “Megan, we’re growing up, that’s to be expected. As your body prepares itself for adulthood and romance, it’s only natural that the added hormones will prompt your mind to have… thoughts, as well.” Marc pointed out.

“I know what puberty is.” Megan hissed, her blush deepening. “It’s just… the dream… was about Lee.”

“About…” Marc trailed off, his eyes going wide after another moment. “O-oh… I see…”

Megan glanced at Marc out of the corner of her eye, gulping down her nervousness. “You have to promise not to tell him, Tony, or anyone else.”

“I already gave you my word, and you know I can keep a secret. I’m just a little… stunned, I suppose. Why would you-“

“I don’t know.” Megan interrupted him. “I can’t control my dreams, it just sort of HAPPENED.”

“Of course, of course.” Marc put his hand to his chin thoughtfully. “I must admit, psychology really isn’t my forte, so I have no idea how to take this.”

“You and me both.” Megan shook her head. “I don’t like him that way, not when I’m awake, why would I have a dream about it?”

“Well, after this mission is over, I’ll try to do some research and see what I can come up with, alright? I’m sure someone knows what this sort of thing means.” Marc nodded solemnly.

“Really? Wow… thank you!” Megan smiled and reached over to pull her middle sibling into a tight hug. “That’s so sweet of you.”

“Hey, don’t mention it sis.” Marc patted her back with a gentle hand. “You’ve helped me out plenty of times, it’s the least I can do.”

“We’re coming up on the town… slash hovel.” Lee spoke from the front of the plane. Megan and Marc moved away from each other, then stood to make their way back to the front of the plane where Lee and Tony were staring blankly out the front windshield. ‘Hovel’ certainly seemed like an appropriate word for it. Megan hadn’t thought there were any towns left in the country where the buildings all seemed to be made of real wood planks and the roads were made of dirt and rocks. There didn’t seem to be any people on the streets, strangely enough. The place looked completely deserted.

“Yeesh, where the heck did you guys bring us?” Megan asked.

“These are the coordinates Jerry gave us.” Marc looked down at the radar on the dashboard. “This must be the place.”

“Well then, I guess we can begin our investigation.” Lee shrugged. “Guess we’ll find out what’s going on when we get down there.” He reached forward to grip the controls and turn the plane into a slow spiraling descent.

Megan Leaned against the back of his chair, gripping it for balance as they circled downward. Her gaze turned upward outside the windshield as the ground came into view on their side, full of trees surrounding the broken town as far as the eye could see. She blinked when she noticed a beautiful, snow-white bird gliding through the air at their side. “Wow… it’s so beautiful…” Megan smiled appreciatively… moments before the bird was suddenly sucked into the massive jet engine on the wing. Megan gasped as a plume of white feathers exploded out the back. “Gah!”

“Okay… THAT was one of the most awesome things I’ve ever seen!” Tony cackled.

“Awesome!? That thing just nearly blew up the wing! I’ve lost control!” Lee grunted and yanked on the flight stick as hard as he could, but still the jet continued to careen around sideways, spiraling ever more quickly towards the ground.

“Lee! Get this thing under control!” Marc and Megan clung for dear life to the backs of the seats before they could be hurled into the floor or one of the walls, their legs kicking at the air around them. Through the windshield they could see fire pouring out of the left wing, sending plumes of pitch black smoke into the air.

“No good! I can’t right us without the wing! We’re going down here, we’ve got to abandon the jet!” Lee screamed.

“We can’t! We’re spinning too fast! If we leave the seats we’ll be pummeled against the walls!” Marc shouted above the sudden blaring sirens and flashing red lights.

“I don’t think I like flying anymore!” Tony screamed at the top of his lungs.

“Gah! Guys!” Megan’s fingers suddenly slipped away from the seat, and the hands of all three of her brothers shot out for her… but they were spinning too fast. She quickly hurled out of reach and looked up just in time to see herself hurdling towards one of the sturdy steel walls nearby… and impending darkness.


	2. Fight the Forest

“I can’t… believe this.” Lee plopped down on a log and put his face in his hands, gripping at the tangled mess of hair on top of his head. A gentle stream trickled past nearby, giving a calming air that he barely noticed. “I can’t believe any of this.”

“Megan’s fine, Lee. She always has been before.” Tony pointed out with a cheerfully optimistic smile. “She’ll be fine now.”

“Yes. Of course you’re right, T.” Marc assured him with a soft smile, though his words didn’t even remotely echo what he was feeling. The sight of Megan’s body flying out the windshield after it shattered from the air pressure was still playing in his mind again and again. There was just no way she could… but he couldn’t tell Tony that. They didn’t need him to freak out and do something rash. They had to find a way to get in contact with Jerry, since their MP Coms kept spitting static at them whenever they tried them.

It was then that he noticed one of Tony’s arms was bleeding right through his glove. “Tony, you’re bleeding!”

“Huh?” Tony looked down at his glove, seeing the deep gash in it. “Oh, I guess so…”

“Come on, you can’t walk around like that.” Marc dragged Tony over to the stream and pulled his glove off to use the water to wash the blood off of his arm. It was coming from a gash on his lower arm, though thankfully the bloodflow had slowed almost to a stop on its own.”

Lee looked up, cradling his chin in both palms as he gazed at Tony. Lee closed his eyes and took a deep, steadying breath before flashing their youngest brother a confident smile. “Megan’s the toughest girl we know, she’ll be just fine.”

“So stop bellyaching and let’s find some civilization already.” Tony turned back to Marc. “Are we sure we’re going the right way?”

“According to my calculations from the angle of our descent and the time we spent sliding on the ground, the town we came to investigate should be due West from here.” Marc replied with a firm nod as he slipped Tony’s glove back into place. “Unfortunately, since we can’t seem to link up with the WOOHP satellites right now, it’s impossible for me to tell EXACTLY where we are.”

“Guess we should get moving then.” Lee stood from the log and brushed off the back of his slightly-torn WOOHP uniform. “I don’t like the idea of sleeping out here tonight, let’s try to get to this town before anything else goes wrong.”

“Yeah, Megan’s probably already waiting there for us anyway.” Tony nodded and turned to head in the direction Marc indicated. Lee watched him walk for a few moments before turning to walk behind him, shoulder-to-shoulder with Marc.

“You okay, bro?” Marc asked in a quiet voice.

Lee looked over at him with an incredulous expression on his face. “If I wasn’t so stupid and careless, we would have landed just fine.”

“You can’t blame yourself for this.” Marc reminded him. “You couldn’t control what happened.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Lee looked away from him just after Marc caught sight of tears welling up on the corners of his eyes. “Come on… we can’t let Tony get ahead of us. We need to stick together.” He sped up, breaking away from the smarter sibling and rushing to keep up with the youngest of the Clark clan. Marc shook his head, but made sure to keep up with his two brothers as best he could. The very idea that they would never see Megan again… the possibility had never seemed so real before, and it looked like it was tearing Lee apart. This could be it, he thought to himself. This could change everything. It could be the end of WOOHP, of Megan…

The three brothers walked through the night with Tony leading the charge, the adrenaline from the crash driving them forward at a quick pace well after they would have normally passed out from exhaustion. As they walked, Marc pulled out his PDA and started rooting through the directories. Thankfully whatever was preventing them from accessing the WOOHP satellites and using their cell phones wasn’t messing up their gadgets’ internal functions.

“What are you doing, Marc?” Tony asked. “Is this really the time to be geeking out?”

“According to all of my journals, the chances of a bird-strike alone being able to actually take down a jet are slim, in fact small birds get drawn into jet engines all the time with little ill effect. Even passenger liners are designed to allow for that, let alone advanced WOOHP technology.” Marc replied thoughtfully. “Plus didn’t it seem odd that the jet didn’t start going down until at least five seconds AFTER the strike?”

“So?” Lee sounded annoyed when he spoke.

“So I’m not entirely convinced that was the bird’s doing.” Marc finished.

“But I didn’t see anything else go into the engine.” Tony rubbed his head. “It can’t just EXPLODE on its own for no reason.”

“No, but we’ll have to remember to have Jerry do an analysis on the wreckage after we establish the search party to find Megan.” Marc spoke in a plain tone of voice, but Lee’s expression seemed to brighten considerably.

“Yeah, we’ll definitely do that after we get into contact with him.” Emboldened somewhat by the idea of getting in contact with Jerry and getting a formal search going, Lee turned back the direction they’d been heading before. “The sooner we get to this town, the faster we can get back in touch. We shouldn’t waste any more time.”

“Agreed.” Marc smiled slightly and turned to follow his older brother through the forest, with Tony bringing up the rear.

Progress was slow, and became slower as fatigue caught up with the three brothers. The evening light faded into darkness, then the night into early morning, the light above the high tree-line beginning to lighten into dull orange. Tony covered his mouth with a tremendous yawn, but his eyelids began to droop heavily over his eyes. Marc had to admit he was feeling it too. The adrenaline from the crash was finally starting to wear off, and it had been almost twenty-four hours since they’d slept. Pretty soon they would collapse from exhaustion, they had to find a safe place to sleep.

“Hey, I think I see something up here.” Lee picked up his pace a bit, rushing to the edge of the forest, with his brothers rushing to keep up with him. They all stepped just beyond the tree line to find themselves looking down a gently sloping hill at a large village built at the bottom of what looked like a shallow bowl made of grass. The buildings in the village looked nothing like the ones they’d seen from the air. Broken-down wood hovels were replaced by finely polished wooden buildings, standing tall and strong against the stiff breeze that blew in from the tops of the trees like someone blowing on an empty bottle.

“This can’t be the same place we were headed before…” Marc gaped in awe at the sight. “The place we were going was run-down…”

“You mean we’re lost, too?” Tony complained. “Great! What do we do now?”

“The right town or not, it’s civilization, and they can help us get in contact with Jerry. Come on!” Lee rushed down the side of the hill without waiting for agreement from his brothers, who exchanged a quick glance, then hurried after him.

As they got closer they could see a few people wandering around the small village, wearing little more than enough leather and fur to keep themselves modest as they walked among the buildings, a few speaking in hushed tones while others tended to crops. Marc hesitated slightly when they got closer. Their skin looked like it was glittering in the fiery morning light, in fact the closer they got he realized it wasn’t an optical illusion. They were really sparkling.

Heedless, Lee ran up to the nearest woman without missing a beat. “Excuse me! Miss!”

The woman turned to look down at the three boys, her expression blank for a moment before she suddenly broke into a broad grin. “Well ain’t y’all the most adorable boys ever?” Her accent was one Lee couldn’t recognize, though it sounded vaguely like a Southern American accent.

“Um… thanks?” Marc blinked in surprise.

“Miss, we really need to use a telephone if you have one. It’s urgent, our sister is still missing out in the woods and-“ Lee’s rushed explanation was cut off by a harsh wave of the woman’s hand.

“Hey, hey, calm down there and take a deep breath. Who are y’all anyway?” The woman asked. “We don’t get many visitors ‘round here. Name’s Mother Marie, ah run things ‘round here.”

Lee took a deep breath, visibly holding back from snapping at her. “I’m Lee, Lee Clark, these are my brothers, Tony and Marc. We’re… visitors. Please, our sister is lost in the forest, we need to get in contact with someone who can help us look for her!”

“I’m ‘fraid we don’t have no phones ‘round here…” The woman turned back toward the center of the town, putting one hand beside her mouth. “Hey, we got a lost youngster in the forest! We need ta organize a search!”

“A search? Really? You’d do that for us?” Lee asked.

“A’course, we’re not about ta let a youngin stay lost in the forest, no matter who you are.” The woman winked down at them, then turned to a younger girl about their own age, who approached with a serious look on her sparkling face. “Serah’ll take ya to a place you can stay until we find her, then we’ll get this all sorted out all nice and proper like.”

“No way, we’re going to help with the… the search.” Lee managed to say around a massive yawn.

“I don’t think we’d be much help, bro. We’re bordering on exhaustion.” Marc yawned back.

“Yeah, and I’m getting pretty tired.” Tony grumbled. “Just PROMISE me you’ll find Megan.” Tony turned to glare up at the woman with a stern look in his eye. “If you don’t find her I’m gonna… do something…”

“Don’t y’all worry your cute little heads.” The woman smiled and patted Tony’s hair in a surprisingly gentle gesture. “We know this forest like we know our own bodies. We’ll find yer sister and bring her back to ya.”

“Well… okay.” Tony nodded in acceptance.

“Now y’all get some rest with Serah, and ah’ll come get ya when we find her. Trust me.” The woman winked and turned to head toward the center of the village, where other adults were rapidly gathering into a large crowd.

Serah turned back to the boys, a gentle smile on her lips as her bright green eyes looked around at each of them in turn. “Please, come with me. ah’ll show y’all to our guest house.”

“Thank you.” Marc smiled tiredly as the boys turned to follow her through the town to a small building toward the center of town. Small, but with more than enough room for the three boys and their sister, when she arrived.

Serah stepped just inside the building and turned to give the boys a bright smile. “Make yerselves at home, the grownups will find your sister and bring her to ya.”

“We can’t thank you enough for this.” Lee told her with an equally broad, but tired smile. “We’ll be out to help you look after we sleep for just a few hours.”

“Ah’ll be here if ya need anything.” Serah bowed slightly and turned to leave the building, closing the door gently behind her.

“This place seems too good to be true…” Tony noted.

“It’s a small town, small town mindset. Though there are still a few things that don’t add up, I wouldn’t say we’re in any danger here, at least.” Marc replied. “No need to look a gift horse in the mouth for now.”

“I’m too tired for horses anyway.” Lee yawned again and turned to make his way toward one of the beds in the back. “Let’s get some rest guys, the sooner we snooze, the sooner we can get out there and look for Megan.” He plopped face-down on the bed without waiting for a response. Marc just stared after him worriedly, but didn’t argue. He was right, they needed to get their strength back as soon as possible, finding Megan was their utmost priority, even higher than getting in contact with Jerry.

They just couldn’t lose their sister…

***

The spinning… did it finally stop? There was no more noise, that had to mean they weren’t falling anymore. That was good… but now she was finding it difficult to think. Megan took deep breaths and opened her eyes slowly, but the world faded into her vision in a giant blur of orange and green. She couldn’t make out for several more moments that she was lying underneath a canopy of leaves. “Marc… Lee… Tony…” Megan struggled to breathe the words. Even her tongue felt like it was rebelling against her, refusing to do what she asked it to do.

“Marc… Lee…” Megan breathed again, a bit stronger as she raised one hand to her throbbing forehead. She tried to sit up, but her spinning head once against rebelled against her and she collapsed to her back again, her stomach heaving like she was about to throw up. When she brought her hand away from her head, she saw traces of red liquid sticking to the fingers of her pink WOOHP uniform. It looked like blood… but it was dry. How long had she been asleep?

Fighting a rising sense of panic, she forced herself to lie on the ground for a while longer. She wasn’t sure how long, but by the time her head stopped spinning enough for her to sit up without falling again, the orange light visible through the foliage overhead had grown into a light blue color. She looked around to find herself lying in a thick patch of grass in the middle of a dense forest, with no sign of her brothers or even the WOOHP jet anywhere. How did she get here? Had she actually fallen out of the plane? How was she even still alive?

“Tony. Lee.” She took a deep breath to speak a little louder, but she still felt weak and dizzy. She could barely speak, let alone yell. They would never find her like this… that is, if they managed to get through the plane crash in one piece.

This was bad, Megan suddenly thought to herself. This was very bad. How could they have let this happen during something as simple as a landing? After all of their missions, was this how it would end? Would she die out here sitting in the grass unable to move? No… no she wouldn’t. She wouldn’t let herself.

With a grunt of effort, Megan slowly pushed herself up from her butt, her aching legs finally pulling her up to a standing position. Her head hung down against her chest for a moment, taking a while to stop spinning after the effort. She noticed now that her uniform was slashed to pieces, likely from the plummet through the branches, and there were dozens of other cuts and gashes almost the entire length of her body. Her suit had almost as much red on it as it did pink, and the grass around her was stained with the stuff. No wonder she was so weak…

“Come on, MP Com… get your MP Com.” She forced her shaking hands into her belt, where she found her communicator still intact. With a sigh of relief she flipped it open, but when she tried to connect to one of the others, all that showed on the screen was a thick white static. “Darnit… I’ve got to… find out where I am. Find that town… find my brothers… anything…”

So she started to walk. There was no destination, she had no idea which way the town was or if her brothers were anywhere near her. But she couldn’t afford to stop and lie down. With injuries like hers, the last thing she needed to do was sleep until she found help. She’d seen enough movies and gotten enough spy training to know that sleeping after a big head wound could very well be fatal. Then again, she’d already slept for at least a while. How long had she been unconscious? Had the sun really just come up again? That would mean she’d been out almost an entire day. And she was still tired…

Brushing aside the thought, she kept walking in the deep shadows of the forest. The sound of the wind whooshing through the trees and small creatures darting back and forth was soon joined by the sound of water running over gravel, so she turned toward it, following her ears and the smell of moisture until she came upon a shimmering, winding river in the middle of the forest. The water looked clean and inviting, so she stumbled towards it and sat down beside the water, leaning back to rest her aching limbs.

People tended to settle near the water, she thought to herself. So if she followed the river she had to find someone eventually. The only question was, would she find them before her wounds got the better of her? Well, first thing first, she supposed. If her wounds got infected finding somebody wouldn’t do her any good at all, so she forced herself to slide into the river until she was sitting waist-deep in it, reaching up to unzip the front of her uniform and push it down around her waist. The cool water washed over the exposed cuts on her legs while she scooped the water out and used it to wash off the wounds on her neck and torso as best she could.

When she was as clean as she could get she crawled back out of the river, zipped her uniform back into place, and turned to continue her journey along the river’s side. She couldn’t stop, she couldn’t rest. She had to find someone who could help her before she got too weak to look for help.


	3. A Friend In Need

The WOOHP office was almost depressingly silent as Jerry thought to himself glumly, his eyes glued to the lit up console on his desk. His fingers were rapping together in front of his chin as he waited with baited breath, his heart racing with a kind of fear he’d rarely ever felt before. It was his job to send spies on dangerous missions to save the world, it was what he did and he’d always been good at matching up the spies with things they would be good at. In all these years, he’d only ever lost one team of agents in the field… had that number just doubled?

With agents so young too, on such a seemingly simple mission. Their plane simply seemed to vanish off of the WOOHP radar somewhere over the forests of Canada, way off-course from their supposed destination of South America, and then radio contact had been completely lost for more than twenty-four hours. Where did they go? What were they even doing that far off-course? Did they do this on purpose, or was there a more malicious force at work…?

His eyes flitted to the control panel as the communication signal lit up. Jerry’s finger flew to the button that would establish contact, to see one of his finest agent’s faces shining in the dim light in front of him. “I pray you have good news, Brittany.” Jerry asked tensely.

“Good news and bad news, I’m afraid.” Brittany replied. “Good news, I’ve located the WOOHP jet reserved for the Clarks, and there aren’t any bodies around.”

“Thank heavens, they’re still alive.” Jerry heaved a sigh of relief.

“Bad news, if they’re around there, there’s no way to find them. This forest is one of the biggest on the continent, it’s so dense an aerial search won’t be possible, and something around there is jamming communications and normal sensors. I had to spend over an hour leaving the forest just to get this transmission to you.” Brittany sighed and shook her head. “I’m sorry Jerry, I’ve done everything I can, but I can’t find a way to locate them.”

“That’s alright Brittany, what you’ve given me already is invaluable in its own right.” Jerry gave her a comforting, almost fatherly smile. “Have you located any clues to what caused the crash in the first place?”

“I found the security recording of the moments before the crash. Lee said something about a bird hitting the engine on the left wing, and then the entire left wing completely failing.”

“It’s impossible for a bird to do that kind of damage…” Jerry mused.

“One other thing… before they came down, Marc said they were right over the coordinates you gave them, and the data I got out of the instruments confirms it. As far as the jet was concerned, they were in the right place.”

Jerry leaned back in his seat, putting his hands together in front of him in a deeply thoughtful gesture. “Sabotage… but to what end, and by whom?”

“Do you want me to try to follow up? I don’t see many leads but-“

“No worries, Brittany.” Jerry interrupted her with a smile. “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like you to continue the mission the children didn’t get to, I’ll continue the search for them.”

“Any time Jerry… sorry I couldn’t do more. Brittany out.” Brittany cut the communication after a wistful, almost apologetic look.

Jerry touched a button on the console to turn it off, still leaning back in his chair. He whirled his chair around to look at the massive screen behind him, which was displaying a map of the area in which the Clarks crashed, many, many miles from where they’d been assigned to investigate. Someone lured them there. It must have been for a reason, which meant they probably wanted them alive, at least for the time being. That gave Jerry at least a little time to get a proper investigation started, and find the kids before something horrible happened to them.

Unfortunately, his best spies were currently in retirement.

After a few more moments of thought, Jerry rose from his desk and turned to head towards the office entrance. Four young lives were at stake, he wouldn’t take any chances in losing them to this. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if they didn’t make it back.

***

Every time we touch I get this feeling  
Every time we kiss I swear I can fly  
Can’t you feel my heart beat fast  
I want this to last  
I need you by my side

The energetic song echoed through the modestly sized penthouse as a late teenage girl moved through the building, bouncing in time to the beat and singing along into a curling iron on her way toward the sofa, where two of her best friends were sitting calmly with books in their laps. The blonde girl moved up in front of the sofa and held her hand out to the other two girls, who looked up at her with quizzical expressions on their faces.

In a moment the darker-skinned girl giggled and leapt up from the sofa to dance with her, holding her hand and moving her hips, but the redhead just huffed and shook her head.

“Clover, where are we right now?” The redhead demanded.

“Last time I checked, college.” Clover replied simply.

“Right, and what do people DO in college?”

“Not THAT.” Clover laughed. “Come on Sammie, this is the time of our lives, you can’t spend ALL your time studying!”

“This isn’t grade school, Clover. Our performance here will have an effect on the rest of our lives. It’s a competitive world out there, and only the most studious have a chance of making it!” Sam insisted vehemently.

“Fine, you study while Alex and I live a little.” Clover grinned at her second friend, who giggled in the middle of her swaying to the music.

Sam growled in frustration, slamming her book closed and standing up from the sofa. “You know what, if Jerry hadn’t pulled strings, you wouldn’t have gotten in here at all! So why don’t you both calm the heck down and stop disrespecting what he did for you!?”

“Whoa! Harshness!” Clover raised her hands in front of her. “I study when I need to! And I don’t think I like that tone in your voice! You’re not my mother!”

“Thank God!” Sam glared.

Alex stepped between them before they could get any closer to each-other, putting a hand on each one to push them gently apart. “Okay girls, fighting isn’t going to get us anywhere. What would Jerry say if he saw us like this?”

“Well, I can’t say it’s unexpected, so I suppose I would simply say hello.” A warmly familiar voice interrupted. All three girls whirled in surprise to see their old friend and boss standing near the front door, closing it behind him and smoothing down the front of his jacket.

“Jerry!” The three girls instantly brightened and turned to greet him at the door.

“It’s been a while, Jerry.” Sam spoke in a steady, formal tone. “Alex, won’t you get the man some tea?”

“Sure! Coming right up!” Alex nodded vigorously and turned to head into the kitchen.

“Thank you, but I can’t stay long, I’m afraid. Something urgent has come up at WOOHP…”

“Oh come on, everything at WOOHP is urgent, you still need to find time to relax.” Clover slipped her arm around his shoulders and leaned against his side.

“You’ll have to forgive her, civilian life is making her lazy.” Sam glared, but Clover just stuck out her tongue. “It’s good to see you, Jerr. You should come around more often. You may not be our boss, but you’re still our friend.”

“Yes of course, I want to come by and say hello, but training the next generation of spies is a task in itself… ah, thank you, Alex.” Jerry took the cup Alex offered him in both hands and took a cautious sip. “Mmm, that’s good.”

“Yeah, the Clarks seemed like good kids when we met them, but I imagine trying to train an eleven-year-old how to be a spy is taxing on the patience.” Sam smiled humorously.

“I can’t even be in the same ROOM with kids that young, I can’t imagine trying to teach one something.” Clover agreed.

“That is… kind of why I came here, I’m afraid.” Jerry’s voice darkened somewhat and he lowered the cup of tea in his palms, looking around at the three spies. “Early yesterday afternoon I sent the children on a mission to investigate a string of strange robberies… but before they could reach their destination, their jet disappeared off the radar miles off course.”

“Oh no. Are they okay?” Alex asked worriedly.

“I wish I knew… they’ve been missing for the last twenty-four hours. There’s evidence of malicious action in this case… but nothing to point us to where they might be.”

“That’s terrible.” Clover bit her lip. “Wish there was something we could do.”

“Well…” Jerry looked Sam dead in the eye. “I was hoping you would agree to come out of retirement one more time.”

Sam’s eyes widened slightly, but she quickly lowered her eyes and turned away from him, putting a hand on her forehead. “Jerry, we’re retired. Being a college student is a lot of pressure, if we don’t keep up our studies, it could destroy the rest of our lives.”

“What are you talking about, Sammy? The kids are in trouble, are we just going to turn our backs?” Clover demanded.

“Yeah! We promised we’d come back to WOOHP if Jerry ever needed us!” Alex agreed.

“Someone is always in trouble, girls. If we came out of retirement every time someone needed rescuing, we’d be doing it for the rest of our lives. Is that what you want?” Sam asked. Clover and Alex both balked at this, falling silent and just staring at her. “We can’t just run to the rescue… give up our lives and futures. We were just spies, it was a job, and it’s over now. I’m sorry if that’s selfish Jerry, but we can’t come back.”

“I understand.” Jerry replied in a soft, almost demure tone. Sam heard the front door creak open, but it didn’t shut immediately. “However, for the record girls, you were never just spies… and I don’t believe it was ever just a job. You were the closest thing to heroes I’ve ever seen.” Silence fell on the room for a few moments before being broken by the sound of the front door clicking shut behind him on his way out.

“They’re kids…” Alex said softly, giving her friends a worried look. “I know we can’t save everyone, but can we just ignore someone we know is in trouble?”

“They’re not just kids, or WOOHP agents… they’re like Jerry’s kids. He looked totally devastated that they’re gone.” Clover added, looking back and forth between her friends.

Sam remained silent for several moments before finally lifting her eyes to look at her friends. “Well… it’s a bit different if we’re doing it for a friend, isn’t it?”

Clover grinned. “You bet your butt it is.”

“Won’t have a lot of time for studying.” Alex reminded her.

“Some things are more important… just not goofing off.” Sam glared at Clover. “Come on, there are young spies who need our help.”

“That’s the spirit!” Alex grinned and whirled to head out the front door with her friends, partners, and the girls she always trusted her life to.

It didn’t take long before they were back in a familiar place, sitting in the comfortable cushions of a sofa on-board a WOOHP jet, wearing their old WOOHP uniforms, though they were modified slightly since their bodies had changed a little since the last time they’d warn them. Particularly Sam, whose suit had to be let out another three sizes, much to Clover’s surprise and glee. “Oh shut up, people’s bodies change with age.” Sam insisted in a low growl. “We can’t be sixteen forever…”

“Trust me on that one.” Jerry told them with a kind smile. He waited for Clover and Alex to finish giggling again before reaching down for a remote in his jacket pocket. “Now, if you’ll please turn your attention to the screen, I have some vital details for you.” A map appeared on the screen behind him as he stepped out of the way, and the lights dimmed. “Someone or something altered the trajectory of the children’s plane on the way to their mission zone, the jet’s navigation computer took them in the completely wrong direction before the plane simply plummeted from the sky due to sudden engine failure.”

“Creepy.” Alex shivered.

“Do we have any clues about how, why, or when?” Sam asked.

“Security footage from the jet showed Lee mentioning a bird going into the engine… but it’s virtually impossible for that to bring down a WOOHP jet. They’re specifically designed to allow for this eventuality.”

“So it was definitely sabotage… we’ll get to the bottom of it.” Sam nodded.

“I know you will.” Jerry glanced down at the floor as three panels below the girls opened, and three pink flower-embossed backpacks were lifted out, allowing the girls to take them. “It’s largely the usual assortment of gadgets, though I’ve also included some of the more modern updates to WOOHP technology and uniforms, including your own EyeTech devices outfitted with an array of useful functions. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to let me know.”

Alex stood up and slipped the backpack on with a serious look on her face. “Okay, I think we’re ready.”

“One other thing, the area seems to be a communication dark zone; Brittany had to leave the forest before she could contact us again.” Jerry told them seriously. “Be careful, girls. I asked you to help me with this because I wanted to take no chances in retrieving those children, if you were to disappear as well…”

“Don’t worry about it Jerr, we’ve got your back.” Clover winked reassuringly.

“Yeah, trust us.” Alex grinned.

“I always have.” Jerry smiled back genuinely before reaching back and pressing a button on the wall behind him. Suddenly the floor dropped out from under the spies, but they weren’t caught off-guard. They spun down through the air, and quickly righted themselves, spreading their limbs to fall parallel to the ground side-by-side.

“I see the crash site down there!” Sam pointed slightly north of their position, where a line of trees had been ripped from the ground and flattened against the earth. A ways beyond the crash site, however, she took note of a peculiar looking hole in the forest, where she could see wooden buildings sticking out among the tree tops. It looked almost like a village, but she couldn’t make out from here whether or not there was anybody living there.

The girls exchanged a glance, then as one yanked on the chords of their chutes to catch themselves and begin floating down straight toward the crash site, where the sheen of metal cut through the thick green foliage of the otherwise dense forest.

They landed in the grass, dropping their chutes to the ground and immediately turning to the business at hand. “Okay girls, they’ve already checked the security logs, that leaves us to check out the surrounding area. Look for any clues that might tell us which way they went. Don’t forget to take advantage of our new toys.”

“Yes ma’am.” Clover and Alex saluted sharply and spread out to search the area, the small green EyeTech screens appearing in front of their eyes as they looked.

“You know, I kind of like this new toy.” Clover admitted. “I wonder if there’s an X-Ray function…”

“Clover, you’re so naughty.” Alex cackled. “There aren’t even any boys around.”

“Maybe we can sneak it back with us when we’re done here.” Clover clicked her tongue. “There are some real hotties around…”

Sam let the girls banter back and forth while she looked around, the EyeTech examining every inch of the surrounding trees and grass. Being a spy sure has changed, she thought to herself curiously. Back in her day they… oh man, she was getting old, wasn’t she? Was nineteen really that old these days?

“Huh?”Sam grunted and reached up to zoom her eyepiece in on a small bright red spot on some of the grass around the jet. She moved toward it, following tiny splotches of the redness back up to the jet, then the other way back out toward the forest. “Blood trail… someone was hurt, but it’s pretty small, so it couldn’t have been that bad…” She turned back to her partners. “Hey girls, I just found something! I think they went into the forest that way!”

“That’s great, but check out what I found over here!” Clover shouted. Sam followed her voice back toward the side of the jet, where Clover was running her hands over the tattered remains of the engine on the left wing. Sam’s eyepiece quickly identified the red substance covering the engine.

“Bird blood, makes sense, birds get pulled into engines all the time.” Sam mused.

“Not that… this.” Clover gently ran her gloved finger against the side of the engine in the shadows, and pulled it away to show that her finger was now sparkling softly in the sunlight. “I don’t know any engine grease that does that.”

“Me neither.” Sam zoomed in her eyepiece, but it couldn’t even see the substance, let alone identify what it was. “My EyeTech’s not even picking up that it exists. I wish we could send a sample to Jerry, but we’ll have to settle for keeping a sample for ourselves.” Sam swabbed a bit of the powder off of Clover’s finger and put it on her shiny new upgraded Compowder. “These new gadgets make this a breeze, don’t they?”

“Yeah, it’s almost not even fun.” Alex shrugged. “Good thing we’re not here for fun.”

“Right, we need to find the kids ASAP.” Sam stood up straight and shoved her Compowder back into her belt. “Come on, the trail I found should lead us straight to them.” Her two friends nodded and they turned to head into the forest, following the small blood trail through the thick foliage.


	4. Hearts Broken By Lies

Megan panted in exhaustion as she walked, but she wouldn’t allow her legs to give out. She felt drained like she never had in her life. Occasionally the world would spin in front of her eyes, forcing her to stop and close them until the sensation passed, but still she trudged onward through the forest alongside the running water. Progress was extremely slow, but if she went any faster she felt like she would either pass out or throw up, perhaps at the same time.

She grunted when she felt her stomach tighten in hunger, but she wasn’t stupid or desperate enough to start plucking berries off of the local plants. Still, she needed something to keep her going, she was weak enough without giving in to thirst. She approached the river and knelt down with some difficulty, rinsing her hands off in the water before cupping out some into her spooned hands and taking a few cautious sips. It tasted good and pure to her.

After satisfying her thirst, Megan wiped her mouth off with the back of her hand and stood up again, taking an extra moment to compose herself before turning to walk in the direction the stream was flowing. She had no idea which way the village was, or how far it was, but there was nothing to be gained sitting here and starving to death.

She checked her MP Com again as she walked, as she had countless times before, but she still couldn’t get any signals through to Jerry or her brothers. With a frustrated grunt she shoved the MP Com back into her pocket and continued to walk, her feet shuffling unsteadily through the grass alongside the stream.

A gasp escaped her throat when she accidentally kicked an upturned root, sending her stumbling to the grass again with a pained groan. Her fingers clutched at the grass in frustration, and she had to admit to herself, some terror. She wasn’t going to find anyone like this… she couldn’t get any food, she couldn’t signal for help, and she was getting weaker by the second. She was close to just closing her eyes and giving up when she heard the sound of leaves rustling nearby.

Her eyes snapped open to see a human figure moving through the foliage nearby. “H-hey… hey! Help!” Megan reached toward the forest with one hand, shouting as loud as she could. “Help me! Please!”

“Well there you are.” A woman’s voice floated back moments before a tall, strong-looking woman walked out of the trees toward her with a half-smile on her lips. Megan thought she must be losing her mind… the woman looked like she was sparkling in the sunlight. “Ah knew ya couldn’t be too far, yer brothers are pretty worried about ya.”

“My brothers…?” Megan’s heart skipped a beat. They were okay… they were alive! “P-please… help me… I’ll do anything you want me to…”

“Oh, ah know ya will, sweetheart.” The woman petted her head gently, running her fingers down to the back of her neck… then gripping the back of her uniform and hefted her up from the ground, turning to march her toward the stream.

“Gah! Hey! What’re you doing?” Megan kicked at the ground weakly and reached up to grab her wrist. “You don’t need to be so rough.” Megan blinked when she suddenly found herself staring down into the flowing stream.

“Sorry sweetheart… but we don’t need ya.” Megan couldn’t even scream before her head was plunged into the water, her face scratching against the rocks just underneath the surface. In a panic she kicked her legs and tried to pull at the arm holding her under, but she was still far too weak to effectively fight back. She could feel the panic quickly rising in her chest. She couldn’t breathe like this… it wouldn’t be long before she…

Thinking fast she lifted both of her legs and shoved her body to the side, managing to push them against the woman’s stomach. The woman held fast since Megan was so weak, but a flick of her toes opened up the jets concealed within her boots, which suddenly exploded into roaring flames. The piercing scream from the woman was deafening, but finally the hand let go, and Megan hauled her face out of the water, gasping for air with burning lungs.

“Goddamn! Rrrgh!” The woman grunted in pain, clutching at the blackness in her stomach where the jets had seared several layers off of her skin.

“Stay away from me…” Megan pulled herself away from the woman with trembling limbs, but the woman followed with clenched fists. “I said stay away!” Her boots exploded into flames again, and the woman stumbled back in a hurry, though her eyes didn’t leave Megan’s for an instant. “Who are you… what are you doing to my brothers?”

“They’re gonna be nice an’ happy… unfortunately, havin’ you tryin’ ta take them away from us isn’t gonna make things any easier. So it’s nothin’ personal, ya see?” The woman told her.

“Gee, that sure is comforting. I said stay back!” Megan pushed the boots into high power, the stream of flame growing so hot she had to cling to the ground to keep from sliding away and seriously hurting herself.

“Yer gonna run outta gas, girl. Why not just make it easy on yerself and give yerself up for the greater good?” The woman smirked.

“Greater good? It doesn’t seem like anything about you is ‘good’.“ Megan gasped and jerked her head back when she heard a familiar voice speak from behind her. The sight of Sam, Alex, and Clover standing at the forest's edge made her heart leap in excitement, her eyes going wide. “Now I think she told you to back off.” Sam narrowed her eyes.

“Why you-“ The woman started towards them, but Clover and Alex stepped up on either side of Sam, putting their fists in front of them in long-practiced fighting poses.

“You’re clearly crazy… but are you crazy enough to go three-on-one?” Sam raised her eyebrow.

The woman growled and backed away from them, her eyes shifting back to Megan, who was still on her back with her boots aimed at her defensively. Without another word the woman turned to race into the forest.

“We should make ourselves scarce. Who knows how much backup she has?” Alex suggested.

“Right!” Sam and Clover agreed with curt nods. Sam raced across the grass, dropping to her knees to heft Megan into her arms, cradling her against her chest. It wasn’t until she was up that Megan finally relaxed a little, and seemed to breathe again.

“Thank you…” Megan smiled tiredly.

“Don’t sweat it.” Sam winked down at her. “Now let’s go!” She turned to race into the forest with her two partners, clutching Megan tightly against her chest so she wouldn’t risk dropping her. Megan closed her eyes, finally beginning to truly relax for the first time since she’d awakened. She’d only met Sam, Alex, and Clover a few times, but Jerry had spoken highly of them, and they seemed like great people.

She was actually safe now…

***

Tony groaned and opened his eyes, then took a deep breath when he felt something press against the gash on his arm. His eyes popped open to see the girl from the night before, Serah, sitting close to him on the bed, gently pressing a warm washcloth against his arm. His glove was lying on the floor beside the bed as she worked, gently wiping away every speck of blood before running one finger through a small tub of strange gel beside her and rubbing it over the wound.

“It’s a disinfectant.” The girl told him with a smile. “Couldn’t let ya get sick in our care now could we?”

“Hey, thanks.” Tony smiled slightly, relaxing on the bed. Serah looked up to smile back, still holding his arm gently in her own soft grip. “What about Megan?”

“Ah’m sorry, the search party hasn’t returned yet.” Serah told him regretfully. Tony’s smile faded and he settled back onto his pillow, turning his eyes to the ceiling. “If it helps, mah sisters are some of the best hunters in the world, ah guarantee it. If she’s out there, they’ll find ‘er.” Tony looked once again into her smiling gentle face, and returned her smile. “Are ya hurt anywhere else? Yer costume’s all torn up.”

“Just a few scratches, I can handle it.” Tony waved off her concern with a wave of his hand and a puff of his chest, but she grabbed his arm and pulled him up.

“Ah’m sure ya can take it, but just in case, lemme take a look.” Serah winked and unzipped his uniform, pulling the torso down around his waist so she could dab at the smaller wounds on his chest and back with her washcloth. Tony got a look around the room, seeing that his two brothers were already gone, leaving him and Serah alone in the large empty hut.

“Where did Lee and Marc go?” Tony asked curiously.

“They woke up earlier, said they wanted ta help look, but they didn’t want ta disturb ya.” Serah told him.

“That figures…” Tony huffed and tried not to throw a fit. It was just like his brothers to run off and leave him behind… he may be the youngest, but he was just as tough as them. To keep himself from flipping out, he instead turned his attention back to Serah. “So… you mentioned your sisters. Are they around right now?” He asked.

“Everyone here’s mah sister.” Serah told him with a wink. “We’re like a big ol’ happy family.”

Small town mentality, Marc’s words rang back in his mind. Maybe that was what he meant. “Well, thanks for helping us. I feel a lot stronger now.” Tony smiled.

Serah moved the moist washcloth down from a cut on his neck, running it over his bare chest with one hand as she returned his soft smile. “Don’t ya worry about it… ah wouldn’t want ta see ya hurt.” She giggled softly. Tony wasn’t sure why, but he felt a slight tingle rush through his body at her touch and smile.

The tingle soon turned into a gargle that rocked his stomach and made them both looked down in surprise. Tony had to laugh and put a hand on his stomach. “Haha, right, I almost forgot people have to eat.”

Serah giggled. “Well then, ah’ll just have ta feed ya too.” She stood up from the bed and took one of Tony’s hands, gently helping lift him out of the bed. His joints felt stiff, but he didn’t feel anything horribly wrong. “Is there anythin’ ya’d like for breakfast?”

“Mmm, eggs and any kind of meat you’ve got.” Tony rubbed his stomach in expectation.

“Of course.” Serah giggled again and turned to lead him out of the cabin, her hand still clasped inside of his. They emerged out into the afternoon sunlight together, but still the town looked empty, possibly because everyone was out looking for Megan. This made him feel a lot better, even though they’d left him behind. With an entire village out looking for her, they had to find her soon.

“Oh my…” Serah stopped suddenly, looking off into the forest. Tony came to a stop with her and looked to see a large group of women moving back towards the town, moving at a slow, solemn pace. Within the crowd he could see his two brothers in their blue and red uniforms, though they were too far in for him to see their faces. It looked like there were two women holding their shoulders, leading them along toward the village.

“Lee? Marc?” Tony blinked in surprise and turned to face them, then took off running towards them, yanking his hand out of Serah’s as he ran. The crowd parted as he approached, turning to watch him make his way towards Lee and Marc. The two boys looked up from the ground as he approached, their eyes bright red and bloodshot. Tony skidded to a stop right in front of them, opening his arms out to the sides. “Guys! What’s going on? Where’s Megan? Did you find her?”

His two older brothers exchanged a brief glance before Lee spoke. “We need to find a way to contact Jerry…”

“I’ll… get to work on our MP Coms…” Marc nodded and the two boys turned to move around Tony, leaving him staring in bewilderment at the forest as the rest of the crowd followed the boys.

“But… what about Megan?” Tony’s voice grew soft, his eyes scanning the forest in front of him. The sound of soft footsteps coming up behind him was soon the only sound he could hear, moments before he felt a pair of slender, soft arms circle around his bare torso.

“Ah’m so sorry, Tony…” Serah’s voice was soft and reassuring, but he could barely hear her. He wanted to be a strong man, a grown man who could take anything and deal with it with a bright can-do attitude. But he wasn’t that strong, he was just a kid… and he collapsed to his knees with tears in his eyes. “Ah’m so sorry.” Her tight hold couldn’t stop the tears from flowing.


	5. The Ultimate Pain

“I-I don’t even remember reaching the forest.” Megan spoke in a soft, relaxed tone as Alex gently wrapped some pure white bandages around her freshly washed head. “I hit my head in the jet… and the next thing I knew, I woke up in the forest alone. My MP Com doesn’t work, and my brothers are nowhere to be seen.”

“You must have fallen from the jet.” Sam nodded. “The thick foliage around here must have slowed you down enough to keep you from breaking anything.”

“Didn’t do much for your complexion, though.” Clover joked with a smile as she finished rubbing some ointment onto the numerous scratches and gashes on Megan’s legs. “To be honest, it’s a good thing you washed up as much as you did, probably stopped really bad infections. I’m no doctor though, so we really should get you to WOOHP ASAP.”

Megan smiled back. “Hey, Jerry taught us well.”

“Do you have anything you can tell us about the woman who attacked you? Anything at all?” Sam asked in a businesslike tone.

“No, she just walked up and tried to drown me in the stream… but she did say my brothers were worried about me… they must have them.” Megan blinked. “They’re in trouble…”

“Here, eat this. You lost a lot of blood, gonna take a lot of energy to make it up.” Alex held up a small package of cookies she dug out of her bag.

“Oh, thanks.” Megan smiled gratefully and started pulling cookies out of the bag, popping them into her mouth.

“We’ll find your brothers Megan, and I have a feeling we’ll find them at that village we saw on the way down.” Sam stroked her chin.

“That place? But it looked totally run-down, nobody could live there, and WOOHP’s satellites would be able to detect if anyone did.” Clover pointed out.

“Yeah, Jerry didn’t say there were any real villages in the area.” Alex added.

“Something fishy is going on, we can’t trust that anything is exactly what it looks like.” Sam nodded. “It’s the only lead we’ve got, so we’ll make for the village, even if it turns out to be as run-down as it looked. Do you think you can walk, Megan?”

“I think so, I’m starting to feel a lot stronger.” Megan helped Clover slide her boots back into place and climbed to her feet with some effort. She was a little unsteady, but her face was no longer as pale as before and she didn’t feel like she was on the verge of collapse. “Yeah, I’m good to go.”

“Good, just don’t push yourself too hard, for now. If we could I’d call Jerry to send pickup for you now, but since that isn’t an option and time is of the essence, we’ll have to keep you around.” Sam told her.

“Got it.” Megan nodded. “Besides, I want to make sure my bros are okay.”

“We’ll get them back. We’re here because we’ve never failed to get our guy, we’re not about to start with these three.” Clover grinned with a reassuring wink. “Now let’s get going. We’ve got some ground to cover.”

***

Tony leaned against Serah’s chest in the large guest hut he and his brothers had slept in, sitting on his bed with her with a plate sitting on his lap. The tears had finally stopped flowing, but his smile seemed a long way off. The girl’s soft embrace helped give him some comfort as he slowly shoveled the food off of his plate up to his lips, taking bite after bite. He didn’t even take note of how the stuff tasted, he was too wrapped up in his own racing mind. Being held by Serah like this actually reminded him of when he was a few years younger, when he felt bad and his sister would just take him in her arms for as long as he needed. Man, how old had he been? Seven? Eight?

“Megan used to hold me like this.” Tony said aloud in a quivering voice before pulling another fork of eggs into his mouth. They had been sleeping a long time, so he was still having breakfast, despite that it was almost evening again outside. “Couple years ago… she was always trying to be there for us one way or another.”

“She sounds like a wonderful girl.” Serah smiled.

“Yeah…” Tony took another numb bite of his food, feeling her hand softly stroking his cheek up to the side of his head, holding his head gently against her chest. “I just… I don’t understand. All these missions and we’ve never… how could she…”

“Sometimes things happen, Tony.” Serah’s voice was still light and soft. “Ya don’t even have ta be doing something dangerous. One of mah sisters died when ah was young. She was playing near where they were building one of the huts. Accidentally stepped on a saw and… after a few days, she was gone. No reason, no announcement… she was just gone.”

“What did you do?” Tony asked softly.

“Ah cried. A lot.” She smiled comfortingly. “Days on end, even. Ah don’t even remember how long it lasted, but it was like ah kept on cryin’ until one day ah just… stopped.”

“And you forgot about it?” Tony asked.

“No, no. Ah’ve never forgotten it, and ah’ve never forgotten her.” Serah shook her head. “Ya never forget the ones who leave ya… but it’s like from the great beyond, they give ya the strength ta keep on goin’ without them.”

Tony actually cracked a smile at that. “That sure sounds like something Megan would do.” He half-closed his eyes when he felt her hands slide over his pecs slowly, down across his stomach with a feather-light touch. He could almost imagine himself now lying against Megan five years ago, her bright green eyes smiling down into his own.

“Ya want me ta leave ya alone ta get some rest?” Serah asked in a soft whisper.

“Nuh-uh…” Tony shook his head.

“Very well.” The girl smiled and pulled him just a little tighter back against her. He felt her lips press softly against the top of his head. Megan was going to help him get through this from wherever she was now… he wondered idly if she was watching him at this very moment. He tried to imagine what she would say… probably something about him being a sly dog for getting a girl to hold him like this. Oh well, nobody said she was nice all the time.

For some reason… this made him smile again.

***

Lee looked like he was in a coma. He just sat in the corner of the small communal dining hall near the center of town, starting down at the plate of food their hostesses had prepared for him. He didn’t move to eat anything despite having not eaten in over twenty-four hours. He just sat and stared, his mind visibly spinning behind his otherwise blank eyes. Marc could scarcely blame him for being in shock, he could barely believe the situation they were in himself.

“Ah’m sorry, boys…” Mother Marie’s friend, Michelle, had told them in a soft, sad voice. “Ah don’t think ya want ta see her now…”

Marc shook his head of her words and forced himself to pluck a piece of bread off of his plate, despite the fact that he wasn’t hungry. He was only not hungry because he was upset, but his body needed nourishment. As he forced himself to eat, he continued to stare across the tables at Lee, wondering what he could do to help him. He could tell his older brother was blaming himself for the whole thing. He’d said as much even before when Megan was missing, now that she was dead… what would he do to himself?

Marc grabbed his tray and stood up, moving across the cafeteria to sit beside his older brother. “You need to eat, Lee… we all do. We haven’t eaten in too long.”

“I don’t care.” Lee replied.

“You can’t blame yourself.” Marc tried to keep his voice even. “It’s not your fault.”

“It was my job to protect you. I’m the oldest, it was my responsibility…” Lee closed his eyes and clenched his fists. “I could have caught her, I could have kept the jet steadier, I-”

“Couldn’t have done anything more than you did.” Marc assured him.

“Yeah right.” Lee stood up suddenly, shoving his seat back and turning to march toward the exit, leaving his untouched plate behind. Marc stared after him, but didn’t bother giving chase. Lee wasn’t in his right frame of mind. Perhaps by morning he would be ready to listen to reason, once he’d vented his emotions and relaxed after the tension of the day. After all, it was said that time heals all wounds.

Idly he wondered how long it would be before his own wounds healed as he reached into his belt to pull forth his MP Com and set to work trying to get a signal outgoing.

***

Lee pushed past a couple of girls making their way into the cafeteria, pushing his way out into the sunlight, hovering somewhere between afternoon and evening. Clouds had moved in over the second half of the day, dulling the sunlight and making the women of the village not glitter quite so much. What was up with that anyway, he mused curiously as he tromped his way across the grass. There were no roads or signs here, just a cluster of buildings, each of which seemed to have a nameplate above it written in a language he didn’t even recognize, let alone could name.

Now that he thought about it, in his time spent among the people both searching the forest and here in the cafeteria, he hadn’t seen a single man in the entire village. It seemed like the entire place was full of women. This was pretty suspicious, he thought to himself curiously. And what about that one who kept clinging to Tony? They’d barely been here a day and she was acting like his big sister or something. Where did she get off?

Or maybe he was just trying to distract himself. Lee came to a stop in front of a small lake, staring down at his feet on the grass right by the water’s edge. His siblings had always leapt into danger without hesitation… and he’d always let them, confident in both their abilities and in his own ability to keep them safe. It had been such a minor complication, they’d survived crash landings before, and yet he’d let his guard down. He got cocky, and Megan had paid the price for it…

“You’re… Lee, ain’t ya?” A voice broke into his inner thoughts, drawing his gaze up from his feet. He finally noticed a girl treading water in the lake close to him, a head of extravagantly long pitch-black hair draped into the water, fanning out around her. Her skin, like everyone else’s, was pale white and seemed to sparkle slightly in the dim light of the sun through the clouds. The girl flashed him a sad smile when he looked in her direction. “Ah heard what happened to your sister… Ah’m sorry.”

“Yeah…” Lee rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He really didn’t want to talk about this. “This… looks like a nice lake.”

The girl giggled. “It’s called the Lake of Purity. Any soul that enters emerges cleansed.” She held her hands up out of the water, her hands sparkling just like her shoulders and face.

“Really?” Lee knelt down beside the water, pulling one of his gloves off. He dipped his hand into the cool water, then pulled it back to find his hand sparkling with dull light just like everyone else in the village, though he still wasn’t as pale as they were. “Something in this water makes you glow…?”

“That is the sign that we’re purified.” The girl nodded. “That the Goddess still shines her protection down on us from the Heavens.”

“Goddess’ protection, huh…? Where was this ‘Goddess’ when Megan needed her?” Lee dropped to his butt on the shore. “No offense.”

“Not at all, ah understand completely…” The girl nodded. “Oh mah goodness, ah never introduced myself. Ah’m Rachel.”

“Heh, hey.” Lee smiled a bit halfheartedly, looking nervously off to one side. It was there that he saw a small pile of leather and fur clothing sitting by the side of the lake. He blinked and slowly looked at the girl again, seeing that her barely-visible shoulders were bare and smooth. “Um… are you naked in there?”

“We all bathe in the Lake of Purity twice a day, to make sure we don’t become tainted.” Rachel nodded solemnly.

“Oh… bathe, huh?” Lee slowly turned red and stood up, turning away from the lake and clearing his throat quickly. “S-sorry, I didn’t mean to-“

“No worries.” Rachel chuckled softly. “We’re not nervous around each other, though ah suppose bein’ a boy you might be a little uncomfortable… here, stay like that and gimme a sec, alright?”

“Sure, I’ll wait.” Lee nodded, keeping his back to the lake. He heard the water splashing behind him as Rachel emerged from the water, her footsteps making their way off to one side, toward the pile of clothes. He couldn’t help a swift peak off to the side, but she had already pulled her knee-length leather skirt into place, and was just pulling her tight leather top into place, which left her shoulders bare, but covered most of her chest and stomach.

“Alright, ah’m ready.” Lee turned to look fully in her direction to see her shaking out her hair, which flipped down around her waist in wet curls before she reached up to brush them behind her back with her hands. “Ya look like ya could use some company.”

Lee hesitated for a moment, but found himself smiling slightly. “I guess it couldn’t hurt…” He nodded and turned to walk away from the lake, and Rachel hurried to catch up with him, her skin glittering in the quickly darkening sky overhead. It actually felt pretty good having someone with him… though it did little to make up for the girl who was missing.


	6. Back From the Dead

Lee walked toward the edge of the small village, its buildings standing tall and strong in the fading sunlight as the people walked back and forth on their daily and nightly tasks, all women except for Lee himself, all glittering in the dying light. The people paid no mind to the small EyeTech eyepiece that zoomed out of their sight, drawing back into the bushes a few trees back away from the field in which the village had been built.

“I’ve spotted Lee.” Alex whispered behind her. “He’s alive.”

“Oh thank God…” Megan heaved a sigh of relief.

“How does he look? What are they doing to him?” Sam asked.

“He’s… taking a walk. With a girl.” Alex replied.

“Huh… I gotta admit, I didn’t see that one coming.” Clover mused.

“I don’t get it, they try to off Megan, but they take in Lee, Tony, and Marc like they belong there.” Sam stroked her chin. “Something funny’s going on here. What would an entire village of women want with three boys?”

“You REALLY need to get out and party more Sammie.” Clover smirked dryly.

“You don’t think they want the boys for their BODIES do you? They’re just kids!” Alex gaped in shock.

“Do you have a better theory?” Clover demanded.

“Their motives don’t matter right now, what matters is making contact-“ Sam stopped short when she heard her Compowder beep from her pocket, followed an instant later by the Compowders her friends carried, and the MP Com in Megan’s pocket.

“I thought Jerry said this place was a communication black zone.” Clover looked up in confusion. Megan’s hand darted into her pocket to pull out her MP Com, turning on the display to look at it. Her eyes widened a moment later.

“It’s a text message from Marc! He must have improved his MP Com to work around here! He says ‘Is anyone reading this?’ I’m gonna tell him-“

“Don’t tell him you’re here.” Sam warned her.

“What? Why not? He’s my brother!” Megan insisted.

“Your brother surrounded by women who want us dead.” Sam reminded her. “Don’t tell him who we are or where we are exactly, but ask him to head out toward the forest, for now.” Sam told her. “We’ve got to be careful here. We may be decent spies, but we can’t take on an entire village by ourselves.”

“Well… okay.” Megan looked down at her MP Com, gripping it in both hands. She took a few seconds to decide exactly how to respond.

‘I hear you, but don’t tell anyone we’re making contact like this.’ The message told him.

Megan watched the small monitor on her MP Com with quiet intensity until a reply came. ‘Who are you?’

‘I can’t say. The women around you are bad guys, you need to leave the village immediately.’ Megan sent back. She sat back on her heels and waiting for what felt like a very long time for his next reply. He must have been suspicious of some random message out of nowhere… but Sam was right. If they revealed their presence to the village, they were screwed.

‘Evidence?’ Marc sent back at last.

‘Go into the forest if you want evidence. You won’t believe me if I tell you.’ Megan bit her lip as she hit the send button. Another two minutes passed before the reply came.

‘OK.’

“He’s coming!” Megan looked up in excitement. “He’s going to be heading into the forest any second now!” Megan scooted up beside Alex near the edge of the forest, her EyeTech zooming into the area. She spotted her blue-suited brother leaving one of the larger buildings, glancing around for a moment before turning to walk straight toward the forest away from the buildings. “There he is! We should go meet him!”

“Hold on… he’s being tailed.” Sam told her. Megan looked again to see two girls walking together in the plains, moving among the buildings. They looked like they were talking, but when she zoomed in she could see them casting glances in Marc’s direction, and moving that same way at a slower pace. “I knew they weren’t just honored guests… they’re prisoners, whether they know it or not.”

“That’s pretty desperate for a man.” Clover turned off her EyeTech with a smirk. “Do we take them down and save the boy genius?”

“Yeah, right, the last thing we need is to warn them we’re here.” Alex shook her head in frustration. “As long as they’re buzzing around we can’t make contact with him.”

Megan lifted her MP Com, typing rapidly into it. ‘You’re being followed.’

Sam glared at her. “Megan, you shouldn’t-“

“Trust me. I’m a spy too, and this is my BROTHER we’re talking about.” Megan snapped back. Sam fell silent for a moment before responding.

“Okay, we’ll follow your lead.”

“Yeah, we’ve got your back.” Alex and Clover nodded in unison.

Through her EyeTech Megan saw Marc look discreetly down at his MP Com, then come to a stop by the forest’s edge. A moment later Megan received another message. ‘I see them.’

‘Can you get rid of them?’ Megan texted.

‘Not without acting suspicious.’ Marc texted back.

Megan sat back on her heels for a moment, then stood up straight, texting back. ‘Move into the forest.’ After that she jerked her hand back at the other three spies and took off around the village towards Marc. She heard the three older spies obey her signal and follow behind her at a safe distance. Through the treeline she used her EyeTech to track Marc as he moved, watching through the thick trees by tracking his body heat… but strangely, when she turned her gaze in toward the village, she didn’t pick up heat traces from any of the girls, only Lee, who was on the far side of the village by now.

They approached the side of the forest at the same time as Marc, but before they got there Megan lifted three fingers, then clenched her hand into a fist. The three older spies immediately vanished into the trees, leaving Megan to crouch low and silently make her way up to the foliage, peering over it to see Marc up close.

“Hey, you alright up here?” A female voice asked with a mild accent. Marc turned around to see the two girls from inside the village approaching with curious looks on their faces. “Y’know ya don’t wanna get lost out here.”

“Oh, no, not at all. I just needed to get away for a while. All the girls around kind of reminded me of my sister… and…” Marc glanced down at the grass. Megan felt her heart break slightly, unsure if this was all a performance ruse or if any part of it was genuine. He looked so hurt…

“Of course… but still, we can’t let ya get lost.” The girl spoke again with a reassuring smile. “Just let us tag along. Ah promise we won’t get in yer way at all.”

“No, really, I can’t…” Marc looked like he was panicking, unable to find a way to get them off his back. Megan reached down and plucked her MP Com out of her pocket, sending him another message. He gasped when his pocket started beeping, and both girls took notice.

“What’s that? Yer pocket’s makin’ a noise!” One of the girls exclaimed in surprise as they moved closer to him, further into the forest.

Marc backed away from them with his hands up. “Oh it’s nothing, it’s er… my…” He backed away until his back hit a nearby tree trunk, and two girls closed in on him suspiciously, moving in close. Megan lifted her hands, flashing a quick signal towards the overhead foliage.

Suddenly a green form dropped down, her fingers slamming tiny needles into the necks of both girls. They barely had time to register the pinpricks before they collapsed to the grass right in front of Marc in a tangled heap of hair, leather and limbs.

“Whoa!” Marc jumped and looked up in surprise as Sam stood in front of him. “Sam! You were the one who contacted me!?” He looked around as Alex and Clover landed on the grass beside their partner, heaving a sigh of relief. “I’m so glad you’re here, this is starting to get rather strange.”

“You’re telling me, bro.” Megan stood up straight and walked out of the bush, moving towards her brother. Marc seemed to freeze in place, his eyes whipping toward her, as if barely believing what he was seeing. “Are you okay?” Megan asked worriedly.

“Megan… Megan!” Marc rushed toward her and threw his arms around her, pulling her close. “You’re alive! Oh… I can’t believe it! You fell from a JET you shouldn’t be… I mean of course I’m glad you are but… Megan…” His arms tightened around her, pulling her tightly up against him. Megan couldn’t help a soft blush, but she hugged him back lightly, closing her eyes. “They told us they found your body… we were sure you were…”

“I’m not… I’m okay, thanks to Sam, Alex, and Clover.” Megan patted his back warmly. “I’m just glad you’re all okay.”

“Aaawwwww…” Alex cooed and clasped her hands in front of her. “Is anything more adorable than loving siblings? I want a brother now.”

“Annoying cousin’s enough for me.” Clover grunted. Sam chuckled.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Megan?” Marc pulled back slightly, bringing a hand up to touch her gashed cheek, and slide it up to the thick white bandages wrapped around her head. “These injuries look like they could be rather serious.”

“Don’t worry about it, right now YOU guys are the ones in danger.” Megan grabbed his wrist firmly, staring into his eyes. “One of those women found me by the river and tried to KILL me. She might have gotten away with it if Sam, Alex, and Clover hadn’t shown up when they did.”

“What? But why would they accept us and try to get rid of you? That doesn’t make any logical sense!”

“Who cares? We’ve got to get Lee and Tony out of there and get away while we still can!” Megan insisted. Marc stared at her for a moment, then shook his head.

“No… they brought us here for a reason, they must have, which means they must know all about WOOHP too to pull it off. If we take off now, they may realize we’re going for help and just leave this place, and put others in jeopardy of being drawn in wherever they go. We have to bring them down now before they can hurt anyone.” Marc insisted.

“That’s a very good point.” Sam agreed, walking up behind Megan before she could protest. “We need to keep an eye on them, but we also need to get in touch with Jerry and let him know what we’ve found. We should split up.”

“I’m staying here.” Megan whirled around instantly. “I’m not leaving them with those… those… GIRLS!”

Sam nodded back without hesitation. “Clover and I will see how far we have to be to get clear of this communication blackout. Something tells me these women are behind it. Alex, would you stay behind with Megan? She’s smart, but she’s still weak.”

“Of course Sammie, count on me.” Alex replied with a salute and a smile.

“I’m counting on both of you. Just hold the fort until we get back.” Sam winked, then turned back to Clover. “It’s time for us to get back to Jerry.”

“Right behind you.” Clover nodded and the two girls turned to rush through the forest, vanishing quickly into the foliage.

Megan turned back to Marc, frowning sadly. “I don’t wanna leave you in danger…”

“Hey, you’re still here with us, Megan.” Marc smiled and clasped one of her hands in both of his. “And that alone makes me feel much better.”

Megan stared at his face for a long moment before wrapping her arms around him again, pulling him close and resting her cheek on his shoulder. “Don’t go doing anything stupid to get yourself hurt, okay? Just pretend we’re not here.”

“Don’t worry, I’m a spy, remember? Acting is part of the job description.” Marc pulled back after a moment with a smile and a wink. “Try not to push yourself too hard out here if you don’t need to. Those injuries look pretty serious.”

“I’ll be fine… but thanks.” Megan nodded and finally let Marc’s hand slip out of hers, stepping back toward the bushes at the sound of groaning from the two girls on the ground nearby. She gave him one more soft wave before turning to rush into the bushes, hearing Alex running along right behind her, diving into them moments before one of the girls behind them lifted her head.

“Wh… wha…? What happened…?” The girl groaned confusedly.

“I don’t know, I’m afraid you just passed out. Are you okay?” Marc knelt down beside the two girls with a worried frown on his face. “You look pale.”

“I…” The girl rubbed her head and pushed herself up to her knees. “The beeping…”

“I didn’t hear any beeping.” Marc told her concernedly. “You must have bumped your head… come on, I’ll help you both get back to the village so you can lie down.” The girl nodded in confusion and pushed herself up. They both moved to lift the other unconscious girl off the grass, waking her in the process, and turning to half-carry her back towards the small village. Megan watched them go with a careful eye, keeping her breath soft to minimize the noise.

“You guys are pretty good.” Alex squeezed her shoulder with a smile. “Come on, as long as we’re not needed here, you should try to get some rest.”

Megan sighed, but knew she was right. She didn’t want to let her brothers out of her sight, but after the long walk and the emotional reunion, she found that her limbs were starting to shake. She had just lost too much blood. “Okay… I can do that.”


	7. Divided We Die

The soft chirping of birds and the occasional squeaking or yelping of the local wildlife were the only sounds they could hear in the still and silent forest as Sam and Clover made their way away from the village. Keeping her Compowder out, Sam could see that the signal was beginning to clear up the further they got from the village. More confirmation that there was more to those women than living a simple life, but they probably had a ways to go before they could get a clean signal all the way back to WOOHP.

“I don’t know, do you think we really should have left Megan back there? She was hurt pretty bad, she needs medical attention.” Sam noted. She waited a few moments, then glanced over at her friend. “Clover? Are you listening?” She bristled in irritation when she saw her blonde friend swaying to a pair of ear buds plugged into her ears from her Compowder. She could hear the soft sound of music playing through them.

One hand yanked one of the ear buds right out of Clover’s ear with a squeak of protest. “Hey! That hurt!” Clover complained.

“Okay, I know you’ve developed chronic laziness, but we need to focus now! We and four children are in danger here!” Sam snapped.

“I’m perfectly focused, but there’s nothing wrong with keeping myself loose! Being totally tense doesn’t help us or the kids.” Clover yanked the ear buds away from Sam to shove them into one of her many pockets. “Geeze, and I thought you were no fun in high school.”

“There’s a time and a place for fun.” Sam snapped.

“Not for you, obviously.” Clover smirked back. “When was the last time you had ‘fun’ Sammie? I’m honestly curious.”

“Back when I had TIME for it!” Sam exclaimed irritably. “Which I don’t anymore! I’ll relax when I’m finished securing my future and saving lives!”

“Well fine, you do whatever you want, but stop getting on MY case for not being like YOU! Just because I don’t let myself get all tense all the time and give myself wrinkles doesn’t mean I don’t know what I’m doing!” Clover shouted.

“I do not have wrinkles!” Sam shouted back. “How did you even get music on that thing anyway? Jerry just gave it to us on the way here, you never took it to your computer!”

“Duh, I connected to my computer on the way here and downloaded some music while Jerry was busy ‘briefing’ us.” Clover replied.

“You… know how to do that?” Sam blinked in surprise.

“You really think I’m stupid, don’t you?” Clover frowned.

“No! No… of course I don’t. I just think you don’t try hard enough.” Sam calmed down, speaking in a softer tone. “If you know how to remotely connect to your home computer from the middle of nowhere, you should have a grade-point average WAY higher than a C plus.”

“It’s just a grade, what’s important is that I know the important stuff.” Clover replied.

Sam sighed and rubbed her forehead. “Knowing how to download music from your computer isn’t part of that ‘important stuff’ is it?”

Clover shrugged nonchalantly. “Maybe that crap doesn’t really interest me that much. Maybe after being a spy, saving the world for years… studying to be a fashion consultant doesn’t seem very important anymore.”

Sam glanced over at her out of the corner of her eye. “Clover… We agreed to leave WOOHP together because we’re a team, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to give up everything for the world. Jerry’s given up his life. He never had children, I don’t think he’s even been married. He gave himself wholly to WOOHP’s cause… do you really want to dedicate every moment of the rest of your life to it?”

“I dunno… maybe. Sometimes.” Clover shrugged. “Everything else just feels so… empty.”

Sam looked down at the grass as they passed, crossing her arms over her chest. She’d been spending almost every waking moment since her retirement studying for her future career. She hadn’t even thought about going out to do anything fun or seeing any boys. Now that she thought about it… weren’t those the things she didn’t want to lose when she decided to leave WOOHP? Was she just trying to distract herself from realizing what she’d left behind?

“Well y’all make enough noise ta attract all sorts of attention, don’tcha?” A familiar blonde woman stepped out right in front of them with her hand resting cockily on her hips. Sam and Clover instantly dropped into ready stances, but quickly more women appeared out of the bushes and out from behind the trees, until six large, strong-looking women had them completely surrounded. “Now ah know y’all are crazy… but are ya crazy enough ta fight three-on-one?” The woman grinned under her mane of blonde hair. It was the same woman who had attacked Megan.

“Psh, of course not.” Clover shrugged, then suddenly launched her fist forward like a missile, knocking the woman clean to the forest floor as the women around them gasped in shock. “Two on five is fine, though.” Clover grinned and rubbed her fist.

All at once the forest seemed to explode into motion. Clover whirled to spin under one thrown punch, immediately blocking another with an inward thrust of her arm before bringing it back to backfist her second attacker across the cheek. She spun back toward the first attacker and grabbed her wrist, but a third body slammed into her side, running her across the grass to slam her heavily into the side of a tree.

“Clover! Hang on!” Sam shouted from a small distance away, where she was grappling with the other two attackers, trying to get the upper hand as they both approached from the front. Clover grunted and tried to push the women off of her, but one of them reared back and slammed a solid fist into her cheek, knocking her away from the tree to the grass, where she fell with a thump and a groan. She quickly tried to shake her head clear and get up, but a heavy weight came down on her throat, pinning her on top of the grass.

Sam whirled lightly on one leg, her foot flying around to slam one of the women into a nearby tree trunk head first before she whirled on the woman who had her knee pressed against Clover’s throat. “Get off of her!” Sam clenched her fists and took a step forward, but the woman pressed harder down on Clover, whose face was already beginning to turn as red as her uniform from lack of oxygen.

“Well well… it looks like we got the upper hand, li’l girl.” The blonde pushed herself up from the grass, wiping blood off of her lip with the back of one hand. “Guess yer cocky friend bit off more than she could chew… but what else is new for yer corrupted, conceited world?” the woman smirked and walked slowly towards Sam, her four remaining companions moving behind her as the fifth kept Clover securely pinned on the ground. “Now come with us if ya want yer friend ta live.”

Sam narrowed her eyes. This was the woman who’d tried to kill Megan without a second’s hesitation… she had no intention of taking Sam and Clover hostage, of that she was sure. Sam was a fantastic fighter once, but she wasn’t at all confident she could take on five tough combatants after living a civilian life for so long. If she gave herself up, they would both die. If she tried to fight, they would probably die. If she ran, they may try to use Clover as bait to lure her back, buying her time. But if she was wrong…

Sam glanced down at Clover, who was staring back, trying to pry the knee off of her throat with limited success. She was clearly getting weaker by the moment, fighting for the little air she was getting. Clover’s eyes shifted to the side, where Sam noticed movement in the bushes. Others were coming up behind her, trying to get her while she was distracted. She doubted her ability to take on five of them, adding more on top of it would make fighting completely futile. She had no choice…

Suddenly the blonde woman lunged for her, but Sam arched her back to avoid the wild grab and brought her legs up at the same time, slamming her heel into the woman’s jaw even as she used her momentum to throw herself into a backwards summersault. The woman’s four companions lurched after her, but Sam spun around and began to run, leaping through the arms of the two women who had been trying to sneak up behind her.

She spared only a swift glance behind her, seeing Clover still on her back, watching her until she quickly faded from view behind the bushes. “I’m going to be back with help, Clover… I’m going to get everybody out of here.” Sam muttered under her breath as she charged through the forest, weaving through the trees as fast as she could move. She had to get communication with Jerry and get some help on how to proceed. There was a lot riding on her now…

***

Clover grunted under the weight of the knee pressed against her throat as she watched Sam fade into the trees. It was what she had to do, Clover told herself. There were too many of them, and they were just too good. Clearly this was no ordinary village away from civilization, they were ready for a fight. Still, she couldn’t help but feel her heart break just a little bit as her best friend ran away from her, toward the outer edge of the forest.

“Hmph. Guess ah shouldn’t have expected less from someone who came from outside.” The blonde woman turned back to look down at Clover and approached her slowly, putting her hands on her hips. “All any of ya have ever cared about is yerselves.”

“You’re one to talk…” Clover grunted, gripping the knee on her throat. The woman nodded and gestured to her companions. Suddenly the pressure lifted from her throat, but three pairs of hands quickly caught her by her arms and back and hefted her up to her feet in front of the woman. Clover coughed and gulped in as much air as she could, taking deep, steadying breaths.

“What exactly are ya implyin’ by that, outsider?” The woman demanded with a cold, steely look in her eye.

“I may be selfish…” Clover croaked with a crooked grin. “But I’ve never tried to kill anyone… and for what? What was the point of trying to murder a little girl who was already hurt and alone?”

“Fer the greater good, of course.” The woman replied. “We exist because we refuse ta be tainted by outsiders who aren’t of good stock.”

“Stock? Like the boys?” Clover shook her head. “You ARE a sick bit- GUGH!” Clover doubled over as a fist buried itself deep in her stomach, knocking the wind clean out of her.

“Give me one good reason not ta kill ya right now. We’ll find your friends soon enough either way.” The woman put two fingers on Clover’s chin, pushing her face up to meet her eyes again. “Well?”

Clover grinned back a defiant, crooked grin. “I’d say human decency… but you haven’t shown me any of that yet, why should I expect it now?”

“You’ve got quite a tongue.” The woman mused.

“My boyfriends seem to think so.” Clover smirked cockily.

“Eugh, typical outsider.” The woman released her chin. “Yer lucky killin’ in cold blood ain’t our way… bring her back ta the village, it’s been a long time since the path to Heaven has been opened. Our sisters could use a reminder of it.” She turned to march back towards the village, the three women dragging Clover along by her arms. Clover just dangled between them, letting them do all the work. It looked like she was getting lucky, for now. She wasn’t going to be killed immediately… but she had no idea how much time Sam had to get back.

As the first drops of rain fell from the thick gray clouds high overhead, Clover thought to herself. Please hurry, Sammy…


	8. OMG LUV!?!?

The soft pitter pat of rain falling against the rooftops of the comfortably-sized wooden huts was almost calming, Marc thought to himself as he walked through the rain, running his situation over and over again in his mind. This place was so peaceful he felt like he could just curl up on the grass anywhere and feel perfectly safe, but these were the people who had tried to kill his sister and were trying to keep he and his brothers hostage. Was everyone here giving an Oscar worthy performance, or did some of them genuinely not know what was going on? How many did know?

“Hey, Marc.” Marc paused and turned to look behind him, where one of the girls who had followed him outside the forest was coming towards him with a sheepish smile on her face. “Ah didn’t get a chance ta thank ya properly before, bein’ out cold and all.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Marc smiled back with a slight shrug. “I just couldn’t leave you lying in the forest, and you would have done the same for me I’m sure.”

“Of course ah would have… ah’m Illia, by the way.” The girl told him with a broader smile.

“That’s a lovely… and exotic name.” Marc replied with genuine curiosity in his voice. “Did you move here?”

“Nope, born here, along with everyone else.” Illia replied.

“I see… well, it’s a pleasure to meet you Illia, we should do something tomorrow, but for now I think I need to get some sleep and check in with my brothers.” Marc told her.

“Oh, absolutely.” Illia smiled and bowed slightly, moving away from him. “Ya’ve had a rough time since ya arrived here, please, let me know if ya need anything. Ah’ll be happy ta help in any way ah can.”

“Thank you, that’s much appreciated.” Marc smiled back and waved as he turned to make his way back to the cabin the women had shown them to upon first arriving in town. He’d found nothing suspicious as he patrolled around the village. He’d spotted Lee wandering across the grass with one of the local girls, and he knew Tony had locked himself in their cabin since they returned from their search for Megan. The poor boy, Marc thought. He was really hurting thinking she was gone…

It occurred to him to let Tony in on what was going on, but he regretfully dismissed the idea. Tony was a great spy in many ways, but acting wasn’t really his strong suit. If he suddenly perked up from his funk, the villagers could realize something was wrong. As much as it pained him to ‘use’ his brother in such a manner, he couldn’t risk the truth getting out. He had to let his little bro continue grieving until they could find a way to put this village under permanently.

Marc reached his hut and pushed the door open, stepping into the darkness inside, illuminated only by the moonlight from the window refracted brilliantly off of the raindrops falling through the sky just outside. As he moved through the hut, he glanced toward the bed Tony had claimed, where the boy was lying curled up against the girl who had shown them to the room, Serah. His eyes were baggy and darkened, but he looked comfortable in her arms. She, too, looked like she was sleeping lightly.

Unsure what to think of this, Marc made his way to the bed furthest in the back, where he climbed in and lied down on his back, propping his head on his hands and staring at the ceiling in deep thought. It was very late at night, but between sleeping all day and his nerves regarding their current situation, sleep proved to be an elusive goal. After twenty minutes of rolling back and forth, he instead rolled to face away from his brother’s bed and pulled out his MP Com, quietly sending a message to his sister somewhere in the surrounding forest. The interference kept him from getting a full video signal through, but thanks to the modifications to his MP Com he could at least get text messages through.

Marc: Are you okay in the rain?

Megan: It’s wet.

Marc: In scientific terms.

Marc: I wish I could let you into the cabin, but being wet is better than being dead.

Megan: Marginally :-P

Marc: So, about your little problem with your dream…

Megan: LOL, wow, right now?

Marc: Well I can’t sleep, unless you think you can.

Megan: Nah, I’m not sleeping a wink. This branch makes my back sore… but at least the rain feels nice on my cuts.

Marc: So as long as we have time, why don’t you tell me more about this dream?

Megan: Wow, that is the most embarrassing question ever.

Marc: Even Dr. Freud can’t diagnose a dream he hasn’t heard.

Megan: Well it involved dinner, and eventually a kiss that kind of didn’t end. I vaguely remember clothes on the floor.

Marc: Wow… your subconscious doesn’t mess around.

Megan: You said it was normal!

Marc: It is, calm down. It’s perfectly normal. I’ve had my share of erotic dreams too.

Megan: Really? Why don’t you tell me about one of those?

Marc: Well, I do remember one dream after Tami was doused with that pheromone perfume. I dreamed we were in her swimming pool… with no swimming suits.

Megan: How do you know she has a swimming pool?

Marc: She seems like that kind of girl, I guess.

Megan: You definitely got that right.

Marc: That was probably one of my more fascinating dreams.

Megan: What is it about the opposite sex that makes people lose control of their minds? Besides those pheromone things?

Marc: It’s a natural reaction, I suppose, or maybe sometimes it’s an emotional one. We humans sure love our familiarity, maybe that has something to do with your dream.

Megan: Yeah, I’ve got to admit, as much as you guys get on my nerves, I’m totally comfortable around you.

Marc: Same here, you’re the only girl I’ve ever been comfortable around. Much to my chagrin.

Megan: Maybe it’s using words like Chagrin that turns them off.

Marc: Hey, a boy shouldn’t have to hide his vocabulary to get a date.

Megan: Hey, no argument here, I like your vocabulary. I think it’s cute.

Marc: Thanks, and for the record, you beat Tami any day simply by virtue of having, and using, your brain.

Megan: Awww, that’s sweet. :-* So do you have any more dreams to share with me, Dr. Freud?

Marc: Shouldn’t YOU be the one sharing the dreams?

Megan: Well, I dream I go to school in my underwear sometimes.

Marc: A lot of your dreams involve nudity, don’t they?

Megan: What does that say about me?

Marc: You’re strong and confident about your body.

Megan: LOL! I like that take on it.

Marc: Well, it’s really nothing to be ashamed of.

Megan: Yeah, I know. Still, it’s nice to hear that I’m not a complete freak of nature.

Marc: Never. You’re a beautiful, perfectly normal young woman.

Megan: I’m curious now. Have you ever actually seen a girl naked?

Marc: I can’t say that I have. Have you seen any boys?

Megan: Nope, my eyes are pure and innocent, hehe.

Megan: Ow! I just stuck myself on one of these stupid branches.

Marc: Maybe you should settle down and try to get some rest. I don’t want you to fall out of the tree.

Megan: Nah, I’m okay. The stupid tears in my suit just keep getting stuck on things.

Marc: I bet Jerry’s going to have a fit when he sees that, you know how he likes things to stay nice and perfect.

Megan: It’s definitely not perfect anymore, I feel like I’m almost naked.

Marc: You and your nudity.

Megan: I’m just confident, remember? ;-)

Marc: Well-placed confidence, I’m sure, unlike some of us.

Megan: Oh don’t sell yourself short, you’re way cuter than one of those muscleheads they call sports teams… no offense to Lee.

Marc: I’ll make sure to tell him you said that.

Megan: Say ANYTHING to him and you’re dead! >:-(

Marc: Haha, relax, I was kidding. I wouldn’t betray you for anything in the world. Everything you say to me is in complete confidence.

Megan: Heee, I know. Thanks. :-*

Marc: What is that, anyway?

Megan: For someone who spends so much time on the computer, you sure don’t know your smilies.

Marc: I use my computer time on research, not communication.

Megan: Well it’s a kiss, actually.

Marc: Oh… :-*

Megan: :-* ;-)

Marc: Is there a hug symbol too?

Megan: Um, now that you mention it, I don’t think so.

Marc: That’s rather strange. There should be one if there’s a kiss one.

Megan: I’ll bring it up at the next Internet Smiley Creation Meeting.

Marc: I fully expect you to. If people are going to kiss, they’re going to want to hug too, won’t they?

Megan: Mmm… yeah, they will. That’s why we have this. *Hugs*

Marc: What is that?

Megan: You use those to DO stuff on the internet.

Marc: You spend way more time on the internet than you let on, don’t you?

Megan: Don’t judge me, geek-boy.

Marc: Touche’. *Hugs*

Megan: *Hugs and kisses*

Marc couldn’t help a soft smile, which faded slightly when mental images began to appear in his head. He’d been assuming the kisses were on the cheek… but were they really? Wait, was he really thinking this? It was just some text message, it didn’t really mean anything. However, the images that began to come into his mind certainly seemed to mean something.

Megan: Are you okay?

Megan’s message came after a minute of silence. Marc’s hand hesitated over the small keys on his MP Com before typing again. 

Marc: Yeah, I’m fine. *Hugs and kisses, squeezing*

The MP Com remained quiet for almost a full minute after his message, making him fear that he’d misread and gone too far. He was just preparing to apologize when his MP Com flashed with a return message.

Megan: *Kisses back, hugging tighter.*

Marc: *Pulls closer and continues kissing.*

Megan: *Leans closer, wrapping my arms around your neck.*

Marc: *Tightens my grip on your waist, holding you close.*

Megan: *I lower my hands, stroking your back.*

Marc’s hand hovered over his MP Com as his mind and heart raced. Was this actually happening? What should he do next? How far could he go before she got upset with him? Should they really even be doing this? Not only were they in the middle of a dangerous mission, but that was Megan on the other side of the line. There was no way they should do this. Every logical part of his mind screamed for him to stop and focus on the task at hand, forget this for now, if not forever. Megan’s message popped up on his MP Com before his mind could settle on a solution.

Megan: I’m sorry, that was way out of line. I feel so embarrassed.

Marc: No, I was doing it too.’ Marc replied quickly. ‘I liked it, actually.

Megan: Yeah, me too. Is that weird?

Marc: I have no idea. We should talk about it later, right now there’s too much at stake. You’re already cold and wet, if you add fatigue to that you’ll definitely get sick, and you don’t need that.

Megan: Actually, while it was going on, I didn’t feel that cold.

Marc: Try to get some sleep. Just remember we’re not that far from each other.

Megan: Yeah, same to you. ^_^ Goodnight, Marc.

Marc: Goodnight, Megan. Be careful.

Marc stared down at the MP Com for a little while longer, but there were no further responses. He tucked the MP Com into his belt and lied down flat on his bed, trying to focus on the sound of the rain on the roof. The scene just kept playing out over and over again, the mental images coming back stronger and stronger until he was embarrassed to note a very real physical reaction from it. It was natural to react that way, he supposed, all things considered. Still, there was a general feeling of unease left that wouldn’t let him fall asleep. He lay awake through the night, thinking, weighing… and wondering.


	9. Past and Present

The edge of the forest was coming up, Sam thought to herself as she swept gracefully, and silently, through the damp foliage of the forest. Her arms swept the branches and bushes out of her way as she charged onward, her breath coming in heavy, but controlled gasps as she charged through the growing light of the dull cloudy morning. Sharp ears kept a vigil for the sound of anyone nearby who could spot her, but aside from the chirping of birds and the rustle of small animals in the shrubs, she didn’t hear anything.

Probably scouring the middle of the forest for her. That was just perfect, she thought to herself as the tree line began to thin as she reached the edge of the forest. She moved out into the open rain beyond the forest, whipping her Compowder out of her belt and trying to establish contact with WOOHP, but the signal was still weak and fuzzy. The jamming signal was still strong, and the bad weather certainly wasn’t helping any. Just how far did she have to go?

She gasped when something slammed into the back of her head, knocking her forward off-balance. The Compowder clattered to the grass as Sam tried to whirl around to face her attacker, but a shoulder slammed heavily into her side hard enough to lift her into the air and bring her down towards the ground. Sam stuck her legs out and quickly sent herself into a forward spin as she hit, rolling back to her feet and whirling fully back toward her attacker, bringing her arms up in a defensive stance.

“Ah’m not gonna play games with ya.” The woman who had attacked her stated in a thick accent, striking a combat pose of her own with her fists clenched. “Give up now or ah’m gonna haveta get rough.”

“Seems to me it’s a little too late for that.” Sam replied stepping slowly around the woman. The woman followed suit, slowly circling Sam, her eyes looking for an opening. “So what the heck is going on in there? Why lure three innocent boys to your village? Who the heck ARE you anyway?”

“Despite what ya may think, we’re not the bad guys here, you are.” The woman replied.

“Oh, my mistake then.” Sam slipped forward suddenly, spinning into range with a wide backwards kick that would have knocked the woman clean out if it had connected. The woman ducked back swiftly however and launched forward with a strong palm strike toward the face. Sam just barely deflected it with a palm of her own, stepping back to deflect an incoming series of strikes aimed toward her head and torso.

Sam managed to slip past one strike and launch a palm of her own, but the woman grabbed her wrist and threw another strike around her arm, which Sam’s free hand caught just before it struck home. The two women growled at each other, nearly face-to-face in a vicious embrace.

“You have some pretty fancy moves for a tribal native.” Sam growled. “Or are you not as tribal as you’re pretending?”

“We ain’t ignorant, if that’s what yer talkin’ about.” The woman growled back. “We know everythin’ about you outsiders. How do ya think we’ve kept ourselves hidden from ya fer so long?” The woman heaved back suddenly, dragging Sam around and sending her into a wild spin away from her, but Sam regained her footing just as the next fist came around toward her head. Sam grabbed it and yanked the woman close, arching her fingers into a wicked claw which she slammed into the woman’s throat, grabbing onto her windpipe.

Sam shoved the woman back, slamming her into the ground by her throat, as the woman gasped and struggled for breath, her hands gripping at Sam’s wrist. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on in there?”

“Ah’m not tellin’ you nothin’…” The woman snarled.

“Fine… guess we have a date at WOOHP then.” Sam lifted her free hand and twirled a pair of handcuffs around her finger. “You’re coming with me.”

***

“Oooowwww! Owowowowow!” The eight-year-old yelped and struggled against the might of the larger kid, grunting and trying to push him back with limited success. “Grrrr! Get offa me Lee!”

“I’m not getting off of you until you admit to breaking my new toy!” Lee exclaimed angrily, his arms pinning the smaller boy face-down on the floor. “I know it was you!”

“It was not! I didn’t go in your stupid room!” Tony shouted and cried in desperation and anger, trying to worm his way out of his brother’s grasp. He managed to get one arm free and smack his brother across the face, loosening his grip enough to crawl out from underneath him quickly.

“Hey! Get back here!” Lee leapt to his feet and raced after his brother, but Tony was too fast, darting through the house as quickly as his little legs could take him. The sound of his brother’s encroaching footsteps behind him sounded like a dinosaur was closing in on him, but Tony managed to duck out of Lee’s next grab attempt and spin down the following hallway, running straight for Megan’s room in the far corner of the old house.

He ducked inside and slammed the door, locking it with a swift hand movement before his big brother slammed into it hard enough to make it shudder.

“I know you did it Tony! Just admit it to mom and she can buy me a new one!” Lee shouted.

“I didn’t touch your toy! Leave me alone!” Tony shouted back angrily.

“Oh for crying out loud, Lee, Tony said he didn’t do it!” Megan marched up beside Tony, shouting at the door. “Now leave him alone!”

“Grrr! Who ELSE would have done it? Marc’s at his study group today!” Lee exclaimed. Megan pursed her lips and turned to Tony, who was looking down at the floor, sniffling. “Oh forget it! I’m telling mom anyway, and SHE will be the judge of this!” Lee’s footsteps turned to march down the hall away from the bedroom, soon leaving them in silence.

“Did you break Lee’s toy, T?” Megan asked gently.

“I just wanted to look at it…” Tony sniffled.

“Well you can’t hide forever, you have to tell him. He’ll leave you alone if you do.” Megan pointed out.

“He will not! He’ll kill me!” Tony exclaimed in a panic.

“He will not, baby bro…” Megan reached out, pulling her panicking brother into a gentle hug. “He won’t kill you. It was an accident, right?”

“Y-yeah…” Tony leaned against her with his arms dangling at his sides.

“Just calm down…” Megan stroked his arms gently, a wave of calm suddenly sweeping through him, washing away all the fear and panic that had built up during his run. “Everything will be fine… now let’s go tell mom what really happened, okay?” Tony looked up at Megan in time to see her give him an encouraging wink and a smile.

The pitter-patter of rain greeted him as his eyes opened from his deep sleep in the dark hut in the middle of the strange village. Tony’s eyes stared at the wall in front of him, seeing Marc asleep in one of the beds, though the third still remained strangely empty. Tony’s hand reached up to feel the soft, feminine arms still wrapped around his bare torso. He looked back over his shoulder, half hoping to see Megan… but it was just Serah.

Tony sat up slowly, letting the girl’s slender arms slip off of him as he sat on the edge of the bed, gripping the mattress below him with both hands and staring down at the floor. He felt numb, it wasn’t like him at all. He absolutely hated it, in fact he could feel his anger at himself rising in his chest. Was he angry at himself? He wasn’t even sure. He just felt angry, like he just wanted to punch something, as if that would help right something horrible…

“Are you okay, Tony?” A soft voice asked from his bed. He glanced up at the pillow to see Serah watching him with a worried expression on her face. Tony stared at her a moment, then turned away again and shook his head. He felt her move across the bed to wrap her arms around him from behind. He closed his eyes… Megan had done the same thing numerous times when he’d been upset about something. “It’ll get better, ah promise. Ya just have ta hang in there.”

Tony didn’t respond… but his stomach did. He glanced down when he heard the telltale growling of his stomach demanding its morning fueling. “I’m hungry…” Tony mumbled under his breath. He really hadn’t eaten much of his supper the night before.

“Heh, of course ya are, Tony. It’s a little early for breakfast, but ah can always fix ya something mahself.” Serah stood up and took his hand, pulling him up with her.

“Okay… and um, can you… call me T? My sibs always do.” Tony asked nervously.

Serah just smiled. “Of course, T. Come on, ya need ta eat something. It’ll help, ah promise.” Serah winked and turned to lead him outside.

The sky outside was gray and damp, the deep storm clouds hovering low, but it was only a light sprinkling of rain that continued to fall on them as they made their way across the village. Everyone seemed to be going on about their business, as if it was just another unremarkable day in their lives to go through without incident. None of them noticed anything missing, the world continued to turn without Megan in it. As if she was never there at all.

They made their way into the small cafeteria, which was abandoned and empty in the space between breakfast and lunch time. “Ya wait here while ah fix ya somethin’ ta eat, okay? Ah’ll be right back.” Serah flashed him a smile, sat him down at one of the tables near the kitchen entrance, and turned to head through the door, leaving him sitting alone in the large room. He waited for a few minutes for her to come back, leaning his elbows on the table and staring down at the wood. For a while he tried not to think… but that didn’t work very well.

He looked curiously toward the entrance as he heard the door open, and Lee entered with another girl from the village holding onto his arm with a gentle grip. The girl led him to the seat beside Tony and sat him down, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Just wait right here and ah’ll get ya somethin’, okay darlin’?” Lee nodded and the girl turned to head into the kitchen, leaving the two brothers sitting side-by-side.

Lee looked over at Tony with a dull gaze, glancing down at his chest. “Why aren’t you wearing your shirt?” Lee asked dully.

“Haven’t really thought about it.” Tony replied with equal dullness. “You didn’t sleep last night?”

“Had too much thinking to do.” Lee leaned forward, resting his shin on his hands. “How’re you feeling?”

“Like I’ve been beaten up by a hundred bullies.” Tony replied. “You?”

“Like complete and total crap.” Lee sighed. “I’m sorry T, I feel like it’s my fault you feel bad. It’s my fault everything happened.” Lee reached over and wrapped an arm around Tony’s shoulders, pulling him against his side.

“Yeah, well… nothing we can do about it now… and it’s not your fault anyway.” Tony took a deep breath. “You’ve always taken care of us, bro. You wouldn’t LET something like that happen, so I know you did what you could.”

Lee looked down at him in silence for a few moments, then flashed him a sad smile. “Thanks T… that really helps.”

Both of the boys looked back over their shoulders as the two girls emerged from the kitchen, carrying several plates of food, which they set in front of them.

“Eat up, boys.” Serah smiled and patted Tony on the head.

“We’ll take care of ya as long as ya need us.” Lee’s girl smiled and patted him on the head as well.

Lee and Tony exchanged a glance, then both exchanged sad smiles and turned to enjoy their meals. They didn’t have Megan anymore… but at least they still had each other. That was certainly something.


	10. Prisoners of Different Kinds

Clover sat in the wet dungeon just underneath one of the huts in the middle of the village, where she’d been ferreted in the dead of night. The cell in which she found herself was a straightforward affair, a rock and stone square with bars on one side… but the room beyond looked completely out of place. There were several pieces of electronic equipment lining the walls of the room, including a somewhat old-looking PC and a single massive server with a giant antenna sticking out the top. She couldn’t be sure, but Clover suspected she’d found the source of the radio blackout.

“Hey, hey you.” Clover slid up to the bars of her cell, gripping one bar in both hands since her wrists were tied together with a piece of cloth. The woman on guard duty cast her an irritated glance. Man why couldn’t there be any men around? Then Clover was sure she could charm her way out of here. Oh well, the village was all women, so they had to find love somewhere… “You know, I’d be really grateful if you could let me outta here.” Clover smiled slyly.

“Yeah, I’m sure ya would,” The woman scoffed. “Now pipe down.”

“Oh come on, I mean I’d be really… REALLY grateful.”

“You outsiders really are disgusting.” A disturbingly familiar voice spoke from the small staircase as the woman who’d led the attack on Clover and Sam came down the stairs with a frown on her lips. “You’d offer yourself up for freedom?”

“Only until the door came open.” Clover smirked. “But I guess you see right through me.”

The woman raised one eyebrow and walked up to the cage, crossing her arms over her chest. “You make no sense, you admit what your plan is.”

“I’m a mysterious girl, it’s part of my charm.” Clover chuckled. “But I’m not half as mysterious as you. What exactly does a tiny village like this do with some serious hardware like that?” Clover nodded at the giant server behind the woman. “Wouldn’t have anything to hide, would we?”

“In fact we do… we hide ourselves, from the corruption and evil of the outside world.” The woman replied.

“Evil? Come on, I know the outside world has Mandy in it, but it’s not ALL bad.” Clover insisted.

The woman nodded to the guard on the stairs, who approached and moved to unlock the door. Clover quickly slid away from the bars and rose to her feet, stepping away from her captors, who looked pretty upset.

“The outside world destroyed the dreams of our first mothers, they broke them and took away everything they ever hoped or wished for. The outside world breeds evil that we will not allow ourselves to be corrupted by.”

“Then what’s with the kidnapping? Why bring the boys here?” Clover demanded. Before she could react one hand shot out… to gently caress her chin. Clover blinked in surprise as the woman smirked, holding her chin between her thumb and her forefinger.

“After tonight, it won’t matter to you. Nothing will.” The woman turned to leave the cell, letting the guard close it up behind her. “We will show you the door to Heaven, all you must do is walk through it.” Clover stared after her, her eyes widening somewhat. Please hurry up, Sammie…

***

A voice echoed through the room, over the sound of struggling. “What is your name?”

“Nngh…” The woman opened her eyes slowly, blinking into the bright lights. “Wh… where… gugh! Let me go!” The woman howled in anger and pulled at the metal straps that held her down on the thick steel chair in the middle of the WOOHP interrogation chamber. “Ah’m not gonna let you get away with this! Ah’m warnin’ you, let me go right now or mah sisters are gonna come after me!” She struggled with all her might, but the restraints wouldn’t even budge.

“She’s quite agitated.” Jerry mused with one hand on his chin standing on the other side of the one-sided mirror, staring curiously into the interrogation chamber. “They’re an aggressive people.”

“That’s putting it mildly.” Sam nodded. “We need to get her to talk, Jerr, we need to know what we’re up against, and we need it before something seriously bad happens to Clover.”

“I understand completely, but we’ve already administered the truth serum, and it takes time for it to take effect.” Jerry turned back to her. “Unfortunately there’s little I can offer you in the way of support for now, a full-scale WOOHP assault would just cause unknowable casualties on both sides. For now, I recommend you go back and look for a way to get Clover out of there, and ensure the safety of the other spies. You can contact us if you need any emergency action on our part.”

“How? Radio signals are completely blocked for miles around the village.” Sam insisted.

“That is specifically why I had our R&D boys whip this up.” Jerry reached into his desk and pulled out a small metallic bird that perched in the palm of his hand. “You can program a message onto the screen on the underbelly, and command it to fly to whomever you need to send a message to, including us. It will find the target with unerring accuracy.”

Sam raised her eyebrow. “A WOOHP Carrier Pigeon?”

“It’s a classic, but still effective.” Jerry beamed proudly as Sam took it and put it gently in her backpack.

“Mah name… is Caroline…” A moaning voice came from the interrogation chamber. Jerry and Sam both turned back to it to see the woman sitting in the middle of the chamber, her eyes glazed over and glassy.

“Ah, good… it appears we can unravel this case right now.” Jerry reached down to press a button in front of him, broadcasting his voice in the interrogation room. “Greetings Caroline, this will be short, I only have a few questions for you.”

Caroline growled. “Man… stay away from me… ah know what ya want…”

“All I want are answers.” Jerry said into the microphone. “Tony, Lee, and Marc. What do you want with them?”

The woman struggled weakly, her voice wavering as she answered. “Mates… make next generation… stronger…”

“Clover was right…” Sam mused to herself.

“How did you learn about them and execute the abduction?” Jerry demanded.

“We… studied… watched… fer months we watched. Perfect material… learned about WOOHP, how ta fool… the computers…”

“This was planned for months in advance…” Sam shuddered. “This is getting creepy. Ask her why they tried to kill Megan, what purpose did that serve?”

Jerry nodded and pushed the button on his intercom again. “There was a girl in the forest, why did your people attempt to murder her?”

There was a moment of silence where Caroline lifted her head in confusion, looking around the room. “What?”

“Their sister, Megan Clark. One of your people attempted to kill her in the forest, why did they do that?” Jerry demanded again.

Caroline shook her head slowly, lowering it dizzily to her chest. “No… not kill, we don’t… unless ta open the door… ta Heaven…”

“Are the drugs wearing off?” Sam asked curiously.

“No, it hasn’t been nearly long enough.” Jerry stood up straight with his hands behind his back. “It appears that as with any government, the one inside this village isn’t completely unified. Whoever tried to eliminate Megan was acting independently, or as part of an independent group.” Jerry turned to glance at her with a half-smile. “At least you won’t be taking on an entire village, if you can expose the truth to the right people.”

“You make it sound so easy.” Sam rubbed her forehead. “I have to get back before something serious happens to Clover.”

“Of course, I’ll keep digging for information here and let you know if we reach any other breakthroughs.” Jerry told her. “Be careful Sam, and as a last resort…” Jerry held out a small laser pointer, letting Sam take it to turn it carefully in her palm. “Point this at the sky. It operates via light, and will tell our satellite to send a message back here for us to move in full force. This isn’t something I want to happen… but we must be prepared.”

“Got it.” Sam pocketed the laser and turned to leave quickly. “I’ll bring them back Jerr, just give me a little time.”

“You’ve always had my utmost faith, Sam. That has never changed.” Jerry smiled as his most prized spy left the room on her way back to her mission.

***

Megan yawned and stretched out on the large tree branch, her limbs aching and stiff after spending the entire night lying uncomfortably on her back with her limbs dangling beneath her. She could still feel the soft droplets of rainwater falling through the leaves on top of her as she sat up on the branch, doing a few stretches to work the kinks out. She spotted Alex a couple of branches below, sleeping fitfully on one of the larger branches just above the ground.

Megan glanced down at the grass below their hidey-tree to make sure the coast was clear before slipping off the side of her branch and carefully picking her way down the branches. Her strength had almost fully returned by now, though she still had the thick bandages wrapped around her head and her uniform wasn’t exactly in the best condition. She reached the bottom branches and swiftly dropped to the ground below, quickly shuffling into the bushes on the edge of the forest as close to the small village as she could get.

Everyone looked like they were going about their daily business as normal. She reached up to activate her EyeTech, zooming in to get a better look around the area, hoping to catch sight of her brothers again. She did take notice of Lee and Tony walking away from one of the larger buildings in the center of town, but she didn’t see Marc anywhere. Probably still asleep after she’d kept him up, she thought with a light blush.

It had taken her a long time to get to sleep, her mind twisting and turning with what had happened, and the mental images that continued to float about her mind after it was over. She knew what Cybering was of course, in fact she knew people who’d done it, but she’d never done it herself, let alone begun to do it with Marc of all people. She’d always laughed and wondered why people did it… but it had been very exciting. But then, she knew actually kissing him would be so much more exciting, but she couldn’t bring herself to ever mention or suggest that. Man, the next time she saw Marc was going to be so awkward.

Speaking of which, she glanced down at her belt as her MP Com went off, informing her a faint signal was coming through. She reached down to pull it out, flipping it open in front of her.

‘Good morning, cyber nerd.’ Marc texted.

‘Morning geek boy.’ Megan replied with a hint of a smile. ‘Did you sleep okay?’

‘I suppose. I had some… interesting dreams, but nothing to cause undue concern.’ Megan blushed lightly. She probably didn’t need to ask what kind of dreams he’d had, she’d had the same ones. ‘How are you feeling?’

Megan sneezed suddenly and sniffled, bringing one hand up to run it under her nose before replying. ‘Ugh, I think I’m catching a cold. That’s the last thing I need right now.’

‘Agreed, perhaps you should find a better place to stay than out in the forest? There must be someplace with more shelter from the elements nearby.’ Marc suggested.

‘Nah, thank you for the concern :-) but I really don’t want to stray too far. I want to stay close where I can keep an eye on you… and it looks like Lee and Tony need it. They’re walking around the village with two girls like they’re on some kind of date.’

‘Hmmm yes, I noticed this as well. The girls seem to be going out of their way to befriend us. When I came in our cabin last night I found one of the girls sleeping in Tony’s bed with him.’

‘That is so unfair. You three get a harem of girls and I get a homicide attempt… not that I’d WANT a harem of girls, mind you. I am really not like that.’

‘Yes, I know.’ 

Megan looked at the message for a moment before giggling and blushing to herself. ‘LOL ;-) You should probably try to mingle too, you don’t want to arouse any suspicion. I’ll be keeping an eye on you from here. In fact, there’s a redhead coming up on your door right now.’

‘That’s probably Illia, coming to befriend me some more. I’ll keep in touch.’ Marc’s last message remained on her screen as the connection light went black moments before the girl in the village opened the door to his cabin and stepped inside.

Megan closed her MP Com with a sigh. She’d love to speak with him some more, but she didn’t want to make the women suspicious of him, and besides, she had two other brothers to keep an eye on. She used her eyepiece to hunt for and zoom in on them, watching them walk a short distance away from the main village, towards what looked like a rather large body of water by the forest’s edge. At least, she thought it was a body of water. For some reason, as she zoomed in on it, her eyepiece began to fuzz over with static.

She abandoned her post and crept toward the lake, sticking to the thick shrubbery a short ways inside the forest until she was close enough to see Lee, Tony and the two girls without using her EyeTech. She reached up to her ear again, pressing a button on her device, from which a small rod extended, flowering out into a tiny satellite that pointed straight toward the lake. She couldn’t see them with her gear for some reason, but she could hear them as clear as a bell.

“-akes the lake all sparkly like that? Is that why you’re sparkly?” She caught Tony asking in a slightly inquisitive tone.

“Yes, that’s right. Everyone who lives in this village is required ta bathe in the waters of the Lake of Purity at least twice per day. It’s said that its water is capable of purifying a tainted soul, and hiding one from the eyes of evil.” The blonde closest to Tony replied.

“But it’s raining, doesn’t the sparkly stuff come off?” Lee asked curiously.

The brunette beside Lee giggled girlishly. Megan wanted to gag. Did boys really like this sort of stuff? “Of course not, the power of the lake is mystical, no mere rain can wash it away once ya’ve been blessed by it.”

“I see.” Lee looked down at the girl’s hand, reaching out to touch it curiously. It looked mostly normal with the sun hidden behind the rainclouds, but from here Megan could still see a soft glitter on the girl, like she spilled a small bottle of body glitter on herself.

“Ya’ve been here fer over a day… ah’m afraid if ya want ta remain with us any longer, ya’ll have ta bathe in its waters as well.” The brunette told them sadly. “It’s not a big deal, simply a bath, but all residents of our village must be purified.”

Don’t do it, Megan thought to herself. There was no way they would be dumb enough to jump in a pool of glowing water without knowing what was in it.

“Okay.” Lee nodded while Megan smacked herself in the forehead. “It’s no big, we could use a bath anyway, right T?”

“Yeah, I kinda stink.” Tony smiled a sad, subdued smile, not at all like his usual hyper self. Megan bit her lower lip guiltily. Marc must not have told them she was okay. Tony had to be so devastated thinking his big sis was dead. She wanted to run out and hug him, but she didn’t dare, they were too close to the village even if those two girls weren’t in the way.

“Um, if you’d excuse us, we could use a little privacy. You’re nice, but um…” Lee trailed off.

“Of course, we don’t want ta make ya uncomfortable.” The brunette smiled and leaned forward to give him a soft peck on the cheek. “We’ll be right nearby if ya need us fer anything.”

“That’s right, anything at all.” The blonde leaned in to peck Tony on the cheek before turning to leave with her companion, leaving the two boys alone beside the lake.

“Come on Tony, what can it hurt?” Lee reached up and unzipped the top of his uniform, as Tony followed suit.

Megan squeaked and whirled around quickly just before Lee’s hands moved to his pants, trying not to watch them get undressed. There was something odd about this lake, was the water what kept anyone from seeing this village by satellite? It did seem to do quite a number on electronic devices like her EyeTech scanner. At least, it would keep anyone from seeing the people wandering around in it. There had to be another way of keeping the village itself from being spotted…

“Hiding from the eye of evil huh…?” Megan murmured thoughtfully to herself. Who exactly would this evil be?


	11. The Path to Heaven

Clover leaned against the wall of her cell, idly pulling at the thick ropes that bound her wrists. For natives they sure knew how to tie a mean knot, she thought to herself as she made no headway whatsoever. A glance at the window high overhead showed that the sky was beginning to darken through the thick gray clouds overhead, the orange rays of dusk peeking out from under the clouds on the distant horizon as the sun moved down towards the end of the world.

Clover couldn’t suppress a shudder. This wasn’t the first time she’d been captured and put in a life-threatening situation, and she’d always trusted Sam and Alex to come through for her… but now Sam wasn’t here, and Alex didn’t even know she’d been captured. She couldn’t rely on them to get her out of here, and she couldn’t find a way out herself. She didn’t have any gadgets for this, and the cell was too solid to get out of without one.

“Ah, the fear sets in.” Clover’s head snapped toward the cell entrance as the woman who’d captured her stood on the other side with a calm, almost understanding smile on her face. “That’s a fear all livin’ things share y’know, ya don’t have ta be ashamed.”

Clover stood up as the cell door opened and two big women moved in to approach her. Clover thought to fight, but there was little chance of escape from this point anyway. “You’ve gotten awfully soft-spoken for a lunatic.” Clover noted venomously. “Did you run out of steam to commit senseless murder and decide to let me go?”

“Senseless murder? Why, we intend ta show ya the ultimate mercy.” The woman nodded to her two companions and turned to leave, heading upstairs. The women pulled Clover from the cell and led her after their leader, heading outside just as the sun began to sink down beyond the horizon, the last inches of its fiery glow sliding slowly out of sight as night began to settle. Clover walked along with them, looking around at the rest of the village. The other buildings seemed to be empty, in fact the whole village looked deserted until they approached a small, glittering lake by the forest’s edge.

It looked like almost everybody at the village was gathered there, standing on one side of the body of water facing toward the forest, turned back to watch Clover’s approach. Their eyes contained various emotions. Some were worried, others pleased, others refused to look straight at her, but none of them moved to help her as the two women who held her dragged her into the crowd, moving her toward what looked like a giant wooden cross lying on the grass.

“I am Marie, the Head Mother of the Maidens of Light.” The woman who’d led her out here stopped in front of the cross as the two women up held Clover cuts the ropes from her wrists and shoved her down on the grass, holding her down as they tied her to the cross. “Our lives exist in a delicate balance… a balance that must be maintained through secrecy, through devotion, and through the loyalty and trust of everyone here. We cannot trust you, outsider… but we can still help you.”

Clover struggled the moment her bonds were cut, but others joined in to help, tying her wrists to the cross out to her sides, and tying her ankles to the bottom. “We cannot let you go out into the world knowing about us, but we can release your spirit and ensure that you find your way to Heaven. It is not your fault you were born into a world of sin and corruption, and so we will help you find release from it into a better place.”

“What? I don’t wanna be released anywhere!” Clover struggled as the women around her grabbed the cross and began to push it up from the grass, until it was standing vertically inches from the lake, with Clover looking out over the water.

“The waters of this lake will purify your soul and allow you entrance into Heaven. You should rejoice.” Marie raised her arms out to the sides. “You will at last know true happiness…”

***

“Oh man oh man oh man…” Megan muttered under her breath as she watched the blonde spy hefted up in front of the lake. Slowly the cross began to lean towards the water Clover-side-down. She quickly whirled around and looked just behind her, where Alex was relaxing with her hands behind her head. “Alex! They have Clover! I think they’re going to try to get rid of her!”

“What!?” Alex jerked up and rushed over beside Megan. They both looked out across the lake as they slowly began to lower Clover forward toward the shimmering water. Megan noticed curiously that her brothers were nowhere to be seen… probably off being distracted by their ‘escorts’. Those girls had hardly left them alone all day.

“Rrrgh! This is insane! Let me go!” Clover struggled against the ropes that held her to the cross, but they held fast. She pulled herself up against the cross as high as she could, trying to keep her head out of the water until the last possible moment.

“What do we do!?” Megan was practically shaking as she hissed. “We can’t let them drown her!”

Alex looked up at the sky quickly. The orange light of the setting sun had finally faded, leaving the dull gray clouds blotting out the stars to coat the Earth in the rapidly darkening night. Alex looked down and suddenly reached for her bright yellow suit, unzipping the front and quickly pushing it off. “I’m going to do something stupid, you stay here.”

“Huh? What the heck are you doing!?” Megan hissed in surprise.

“Just stay down. The Streamline Slimline Catsuit should let me get in the water without being seen.” Alex pushed her yellow suit the rest of the way off, rapidly pulling a sleek black suit out of her backpack to slide it on, along with a pair of tiny black cat ears that settled comfortable on the top of her head. She slipped forward slowly, the black suit blending in almost perfectly with the growing night as she slipped on hands and feet towards the lake. The women on the far side didn’t see her, too focused on the girl being lowered into the water.

Clover took a deep breath just before the front side of the cross lowered into the water, submerging her entire body under the surface of the lightly shimmering liquid. Alex moved slowly forward, refusing to rush and give herself away on the near side of the lake while Megan bit at her fingernails, watching with tense anticipation. Bubbles broke the surface of the water on the far side of the lake as Alex managed to slowly slip fully under the water with barely a ripple on the surface. Megan’s breath caught in her throat when the bubbles suddenly stopped coming, but mere seconds later the ropes on the cross loosened.

Mother Marie noticed instantly, and barked a quick order. “Lift her up!” The women near the cross moved to pull the wood up out of the water, but when it came out, the side was bare. “She’s loose in the water, surround the lake, don’t give her room ta get out!”

“Oh no, they’re gonna be trapped!” Megan bit her lip, then quickly looked down at her boots. She yanked them off quickly and knelt in her bush, her fingers flying across the controls near the toes of the boots. The jets popped out of either side, and she aimed the boot straight into the crowd moments before the jets flared to roaring life.

The boot flew through the night like a firecracker, plunging through the crowd amid their screams of shock and fear. It slammed into the woman beside Marie hard enough to knock her off her feet, sending the boot skidding along the grass behind her. “What the…!? Damnit! There’s someone in the forest! We can’t let them escape either!”

“Then come get me!” Megan quickly programmed her second boot, and it too launched like a rocket over the shimmering water. This one slammed into one of the younger girls, popping her right in the face and sending her spinning to the grass like a big lump of flesh. The second shot made every one of them turn on her position, but that was exactly what Megan had wanted. She whirled to dart further into the forest as the furious villagers instantly began to pursue. So angry about the attack that they seemed to have completely forgotten about Alex and Clover still waiting in the lake.

Megan instantly regretted using her boots as weapons as she ran through the forest, but she didn’t let the branches and brambles on the ground slow her down. It was easy to ignore the pain when there were dozens of enraged brutes hot on her heels, so she weaved her way through the trees in desperate search of a way out of here. As far as her plan, this was about as far as she’d gotten before putting it into action. Oh well, at least Clover and Alex must have had time to get out of the lake.

Suddenly her mind jumped to a brilliant revelation and she reached into her belt, pulling forth the Double Agent camera. It looked like it was still intact, so she lifted it in front of her and took a quick snapshot of herself. Not even a moment later an identical clone of herself was running alongside her, panting for breath.

“Augh! Why now, Megan!?” The second Megan panted.

“Sorry Clone Megan, but I need you to run distraction!” Megan exclaimed in a similar pant.

“Distraction! Got it!” Clone Megan nodded. “Just leave it to me!”

“I knew I could count on me!” Megan smiled. She looked up at the branched above her, the perfect place to get out of the way… if she hadn’t fired her boots at the mob. She really didn’t think that one through very well, she realized. “Hey, give me a boost, will you?”

“Sure thing!” Clone Megan swooped down, cupping her hands together. Megan put one foot in her hands, and together they hoisted her up towards the lowest hanging branches. Megan caught them with both hands and flipped up onto them, trying to hold perfectly still the instant she was settled into place. She hadn’t realized her pursuers were so close and numerous, it looked like everyone in the village passed by right underneath her moments later, following the trail left by her Double Agent.

“Haha, Megan slips away into the night once again.” Megan muttered proudly to herself. “Now to see if I can find where Clover and Alex got off to…”

***

Alex clung to Clover tightly, holding her body against her chest as the women above the surface of the lake began to shout and holler in anger. The noise soon faded into the distance, however, leaving the lake to glitter in silence. Realizing that the women were gone, Alex quickly kicked her way back to the surface, pulling her unconscious friend up with her. She broke she surface with a tremendous gasp, drawing air into a pair of lungs that needed them quite desperately.

“Hang on Clover… we’ll get you outta the water.” Alex grunted and stroked powerfully towards the shore, pulling her unconscious blonde friend along with one arm around her torso. They reached the shore in a few moments and Alex pulled Clover from the chill water, pulling her securely onto the grass before leaning down to press a hand against her lips. “Clover, come on, breathe.” She gripped Clover’s nose with two fingers and pressed her lips to Clover’s, trying to push as much air into her as she could.

“Come on!” Alex sat up and put her palms against Clover’s chest, clumsily trying to remember everything she’d learned in class about how to give CPR. After four pumps she leaned down again, but she jerked back when a gush of water bubbled from Clover’s mouth and she rolled slowly onto her side. “Clover!”

“Ggugh…” Clover grunted between coughs, lying on her side with her arms limp. “That was way too close for comfort…”

“Clover! Oh thank God!” Alex wrapped her friend in a tight hug, lifting her torso off the grass to hold her close. “I’m sorry I didn’t get in there sooner, I tried to get to you as fast as I could, and then I didn’t know how to get out and-“

“Don’t apologize for saving me, damnit…” Clover smiled slightly. “Thanks… hey, you’re all sparkly.”

Alex blinked and looked down. It was slight in the darkness of midnight, but she could indeed see her skin sparkling just ever so slightly. When she looked up again, she realized Clover was doing the same thing. “Must be something in the water.” Alex noted.

“No doubt… come on, we’ve got to get out of here before the loonies get back.” Clover suggested. Alex draped one of Clover’s arms around her shoulders, helping her climb to her feet. She turned to rush around the lake toward the forest, but she came to a sudden stop when she heard a slight bang from behind them. She whirled to look, but she couldn’t make out anything through the darkness except for the vague outlines of the buildings behind them.

“Something wrong?” Clover glanced around worriedly.

“Guess not… come on.” Alex turned to head toward the forest again, helping Clover hustle along beside her.

***

A door closed quickly as a girl leaned against it, her hands pressed to the sturdy wood tensely as she just sat and waited, her mind trying to reconcile itself into something she could manage again.

“Illia? Are you okay?” Marc’s kind voice came from behind her, and Illia turned to look around at the three boys and two girls gathered in the small cabin they’d been hiding in for the last few hours. “Did something happen?”

“No… nothing.” Illia smiled and turned to rejoin them in the center of the room.


	12. Right and Wrong

“I’m so glad you’re okay, Clover.” Alex hugged one of her best friends in an embrace that could crush a small puppy. Clover just chuckled weakly and reached up to pat one of her shoulders with a broad smile on her lips. The forest wasn’t a very inviting place, especially not with the rain slipping between the branches overhead, washing down over them and their strangely sparkly skin, but it was a lot better than being underwater.

“Thanks, Alex… I thought that was it for a minute there.” Clover patted her back gratefully.

“Hey, we gotta stick together, right?” Alex smiled and pulled back slightly, though still held her up in her arms, since she was still resting to recover her strength. “Speaking of which, where’s Sammy? Did she get captured too?”

“No… she got away.” Clover’s eyes clouded over somewhat, though the look vanished as suddenly as it had come when she shook her head. “She’s probably made it back to WOOHP by now, hopefully she’s on her way back with some word from Jerry.”

“I hope so, these women are starting to give me the creeps.” Alex shivered. “Plus I’m cold, and I wanna go home and dry off.”

“Yeah, I hear that.” Clover groaned and sat up slowly on her own, putting one hand on Alex’s arm to steady herself. “I wonder what this crap is anyway… it looks kinda familiar.” Clover reached up to pull one of her gloves off and ran one finger over her cheek, pulling her finger back to look at the dull sparkle that remained on her skin.

“You know, you’re right…” Alex mused curiously and pursed her lips. Suddenly her eyes lit up and she reached into her belt, whipping out her Compowder. “I got it! I think… yeah!” She opened her Compowder and turned it towards Clover, displaying the same slight sparkle on her screen that was on Clover’s finger. “It’s the same as the stuff that was on the kids’ jet, the weird stuff that we couldn’t get an electronic reading on!”

“Weird… so… these people take BATHS in it?” Clover blinked. “Kinda gross… but then… that would explain how they got to the jet without setting off any alarms! The WOOHP security sensors couldn’t pick them up!”

“You’re right!” Alex agreed excitedly. “And also why they don’t show up on any satellite radar! They must bathe in it so that satellites can’t pick up on them being here!”

“We’re onto something here Alex… question is, what do we do about it?” Clover mused.

“We find the last remaining pieces of this puzzle.” Sam’s voice interrupted. Clover and Alex both looked up in surprise to see their redheaded friend smiling in a crouch close by.

“Sammie!” Alex crept up to her and wrapped her in a tight hug. “You made it! What did Jerry say!? Did you find out anything!?”

“Yeah, we got some pretty vital info from some guard I captured, and from what I heard, it sounded like you have some info for me too… you uh… sparkly girls.” Sam smirked humorously. Alex giggled, but Clover remained stoic, giving Sam a long, uncomfortable glare. When she noticed her blonde friend staring, Sam took a deep breath. “Clover, I was-“

“Forget it, we should compare notes.” Clover insisted suddenly. “We’ve found out a couple of things ourselves, hopefully we still have time to get something done before they completely freak out.”

“Yeah… hopefully.” Sam replied in a low tone, but she didn’t press the issue. Alex looked between the two of them worriedly, but she wasn’t sure what to say. They’d always been friends though, so she was sure this, too, would pass. Arguments always did.

***

The rain was falling again. Mother Marie usually found the sound soothing, but now it sounded like a bitter enemy as she stomped her way through the damp grass inside of the village limits, empty-handed and defeated by those women. They were slippery little devils, she had to give them that much. So slippery she wasn’t sure how long they could remain here anymore. Thankfully her girls had convinced the boys to bathe in the Lake of Purity, so that kept them out of the eyes of outside evil… but how long could they afford to wait here for the evil to come to them through these girls? Would they really have to move again soon? It had been hundreds of years since the last time they had, she hated the idea of being the Mother to make it happen now.

“Mother Marie.” Marie stopped just outside the door to her hut when she heard her best friend and oldest confidante, Michelle, rush up beside her, her long red hair matted down against her head and shoulders by the gentle rain. “We can’t find any trace of any of the girls. We think there are at least three of them…”

“There are four.” Marie replied swiftly. “Has anybody found Caroline?”

“No, Mother. Ah’m afraid not.” Michelle shook her head sadly. “We fear she’s been… subdued, by the intruders.”

Marie looked down slightly, then back up at her long time friend. “This is a dark time fer us, Michelle. We might need ta move immediately… but first, we need those boys ta want ta come with us.”

“Illia said the boys are comin’ around, but ah don’t know if we should push them…” Michelle said in a soft voice. “The smart one’s bein’ more stubborn than the others, it might take longer…”

“Then focus on the other two, and we can forget the smart one. One of them doesn’t matter.” Marie looked into her friend’s eyes, seeing a trace of uncertainty and fear hidden inside. Marie looked down for a moment, then moved toward her, reaching up to stroke her cheek with the backs of her fingers. “We’ll make it through this Michelle, a couple of nosy girls ain’t gonna tear the Sisters apart. Ya hear me?”

“Ah know… Ah know ya wouldn’t let that happen.” Michelle smiled slightly.

“We need ta present our boys with our proposal tonight.” Marie stepped back.

“What about the smart one? Marc?” Michelle asked.

“Have Illia bring him here.” Marie replied. “We’ll give him a different option…”

***

Marc snorted and opened his eyes as a crack of thunder echoed from outside the window over his head. The roof angled down over the house more than enough to keep any rain from entering, but that didn’t do much for the noise. He rubbed his head and turned to look out the window, seeing only the pitter-pat of the soft rain that had started up again coupled with the very distant flash of lightning across the otherwise pitch-black sky.

Unable to fall back asleep, Marc slid to the edge of the bed and climbed to his feet, turning to look down at his brothers in the low light given off by the strange glow covering his own skin after his bath in the lake earlier that day. Lee and Tony both seemed to be sleeping peacefully, though Tony had managed to once again fall asleep on top of Serah, who had decided to stay and sleep herself instead of prying herself loose and going to her own cabin. Marc was getting a little worried about his baby brother. Subterfuge be damned, he had to tell him Megan was okay before he clung to Serah any tighter… but for now…

Marc turned to creep towards the front door, wanting to go check on Megan and the other spies in person. It was a dark night, and the village seemed to shut down this late anyway. Nobody was likely to see him disappear for a couple of minutes. He reached the front door and pulled it open, but he was about to step through when he suddenly noticed that Illia was standing on the other side, her deep red hair matted down against the rest of her body by the rain.

“Illia? Is something wrong?” Marc asked worriedly. The soft glow coating her body showed that her expression was less than enthusiastic for some reason.

“Of course not… would ya like ta take a walk with me?” Illia asked with a soft, almost sad smile.

“Huh? Well, of course Illia.” Marc smiled, not eager to blow his cover by seeming too eager to be alone. Illia stepped aside to let him exit the building and the two of them turned to walk together through the small village, making their way between the buildings at a slow, thoughtful pace as the gentle rain washed over their bodies. Marc kept one cautious eye on her, but she just kept her gaze downcast, watching the grass pass by beneath their feet.

“You look like you’re carrying some heavy thoughts around.” Marc told her softly. “You can get them off your chest if you want. I’ll listen.”

“Marc… what’s the difference between right and wrong?” Illia asked suddenly.

“What? Geeze, that’s a heck of a question.” Marc chuckled breathily. “I think people have been asking themselves that since human life began.” He smiled jovially, but Illia didn’t return his humor, instead staring straight ahead into the night around them. Marc coughed and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “Well, I guess when you look at history, there is no right or wrong, really. Every society has its own definition, and in fact every individual has his own definition. So… I guess it’s up to you.”

“Up ta me?” Illia blinked in surprise. “How is that possible?”

“Well, what do you FEEL is wrong? What do you feel is right?” Marc chuckled and shook his head. “Man, that sounds so stupid and cheesy, but I can’t think of any other way to describe it. It’s always changing, it’s never been agreed upon by everyone so… I guess it’s in the eye of the beholder.” Something nagged at the back of Marc’s mind when he said this. It was true that looking back at history, social norms and mores were always changing, always different. So perhaps Megan…

“Eye of the beholder…” Illia pursed her lips in deep thought for a moment before speaking again. “So if ah did somethin’ wrong, it wouldn’t be wrong if ah thought it was right?”

“I suppose so.” Marc looked at her oddly. “Is something wrong, Illia? Did you do something you regret?”

“Ah don’t even know, really.” Illia stopped walking and turned to face him. “Ah’m startin’ ta wonder about some things… but ah’d like ya ta tell me somethin’ Marc. What do YOU think of me, of us… of women.”

“Of women?” Marc blushed. “What exactly do you mean? You’re just people, right? Not really any different from me or my brothers. That’s what I’ve always been taught anyway.”

“Is it now…?” Illia’s voice faded out as her eyes lowered to the grass, as if searching for an answer hidden among the individual blades. “Those ain’t the stories we’ve heard of the world outside our community.”

“What kind of stories have you heard?” Marc blinked curiously.

Illia shook her head and looked up at his eyes suddenly. “It doesn’t matter, ya have ta get outta here.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?” Marc’s eyes went wide.

“Mother Marie wants ta see you, ah think she’s gonna do somethin’ to you after everything that’s been going on. Ya have ta go, and leave everything behind.” Illia told him in a hushed whisper.

“I can’t leave my brothers!” Marc insisted in a hiss.

“Your brothers’ll be fine, they’ll be happy, but ah-“ Illia squeaked when Marc grabbed her wrist suddenly. “Wha-?”

“Come with me, Illia. You can help us.” Mark told her. “I’m not alone here, there are others in the forest, they’re here to free me and my brothers, you can help us.”

“N-no! Ah couldn’t! Ah couldn’t betray mah sisters!” Illia shook her head.

“I know you’re not all bad, but some of your sisters are doing bad things.” Marc told her seriously. Illia calmed down, staring into his eyes. “They tried to kill my sister, Illia, just to make me and my brothers stay here.”

“What?” Illia’s eyes widened. “But who would…”

“I don’t know, that’s why we need your help. Come with me.” Marc told her. “I promise, we don’t want to destroy what you have going here, we just want to figure out who the bad guys are and bring THEM down.”

Illia set her lips into a grim line and eventually nodded. “Okay. If someone is trying ta kill ta keep you here, it’s mah duty ta stop them.”

Marc smiled back. “Thank you… I knew you’d say something like that. Come on. We need to get out of here before someone comes looking for us.” He whirled to race towards the forest’s edge, leaving the village behind and pulling Illia along beside him. They would no doubt notice both of them missing by morning… they had to make their move soon.

They rushed into the forest as quickly as they could, leaving the village behind. No sooner had they entered the foliage than something dropped down beside them, leaping out and grabbing Illia by the throat with both arms, hauling her back.

“I got her, Marc!” Megan exclaimed.

“Megan, wait! She’s on our side!” Marc shouted quickly. Megan looked at him in surprise, then slowly released her grip on the girl’s throat, letting her move away. Illia looked slightly freaked out, but she made no move to go back to the village. “This is Illia… she warned me to get out of the village, and she wants to help us fix whatever’s gone wrong here.”

“Gone wrong? It seems to me like everything about this place is wrong.” Megan folded her arms over her chest in a huff.

“Marc told me what happened to you, but ah promise, that’s not the way mah people live, we just want ta be left alone in peace.” Illia told her quickly. “Whoever tried to kill ya was way outta line, in fact it’s part of our faith that our mates must never be convinced by any force ta stay, or the next generation’s gonna be cursed.”

“Mates? You mean my brothers?” Megan glared.

“Hold on Megan, before anything else, I think we should know what we’re dealing with here.” Marc turned to Illia. “Anything you can tell us about your people could be important Illia, we need to know exactly what you’re trying to do and why.”

“Alright.” Illia nodded. “We were gonna tell you boys soon anyway, ta ask you ta stay with us… ah don’t even know how long ago our people came together, we don’t keep many historical records, but ah know the story of how it all went down…”


	13. The Sisters of the Goddess

Ah don’t know how long ago it was, could’ve been hundreds, could’ve been thousands of years ago, but once our Foremothers lived in the outside world, among the other men and women of the world. Women were not treated very well. They were caregivers, child-bearers, but otherwise little more than slaves to the men they called their husbands. Women existed ta serve and ta reproduce, that was everything we were. So many women desired ta be more, but it seemed like it was never ta be.

In private, the women of this society began ta band together and pray day and night fer something ta help free them ta make their own lives and decisions, but nothing ever happened. Not all men were bad, of course, but even the good ones did nothing ta help those women who ended up betrothed ta monsters who would beat and molest them without mercy or compassion. There was nothing they could do, ah suppose… it was just how it was.

Until one day, there was a little girl who was born ta an evil man in a big city. When his wife gave birth he’d badly wanted a son ta carry on his legacy, and when it turned out his child was a girl, he was absolutely furious. There was nothing he could do, but he did nothing for the girl, and forbade his wife ta care for her beyond feeding and clothing her. Soon he had a son as well, and the little girl was completely forgotten, pushed into the back of his mind like she wasn’t even there. The girl was taught nothing of the world, or how to deal with a man who, one day, grew so angry he needed something ta take his anger out on.

The girl became his target, and still nobody did anything. He didn’t care, and if anyone else knew, they didn’t care either. There was nothing his wife could do but ask him ta stop. He didn’t, taking out his frustration on her li’l body until there was nothing left of her but a shell. Still, the girl didn’t give up hope, like so many other women in this world, she began ta pray at night… in fact, the first night she prayed was the last night she’d be able ta. The next day her father was fired from work… and she was never seen again.

According to our legend, that was when the Goddess finally heeded the women’s prayers. They were saved from their slavery, given a place they could be free and safe… but they would have to hide for the rest of time from those men. The Goddess gave them the Lake of Purity ta forever shield them from the eyes of evil, so that they could never be found by those who would hurt and enslave them. Even today we must bathe in its waters twice a day… and in all this time, it’s been very rare for outsiders ta find us. Those who have, we simply sent to Heaven. That has always been our way…

Though very quickly the Sisters realized that they wouldn’t be able ta carry on the next generation if there were no men, so they began to keep an eye on the outside world for those men who are good, strong, and kind, and whose strength could enhance the abilities of the next generation. Any man judged fit by our current Mother would be invited inta our village ta live out the rest of their lives in peace with us, while helping us ta give birth ta the next generation. This was why Mother Marie chose you and your brothers, Marc. In only a few more years it will be time for the next generation ta be born, and since we began watching, you three have shown all of the qualities of the greatest men we have ever seen come to this village. You’re young and brash, but ya sacrifice for the good of all, and between you, you have all the intelligence, energy, and charisma ta make our next the strongest generation.

We never intended to hurt you or your brothers, Marc, and ah swear, ah did not know someone had tried ta kill your sister ta keep you here. As I said, doing such a thing would curse the next generation. I… can’t imagine that someone really tried ta do it. Our entire existence is based on the desire for peace and safety, ta commit cold-blooded murder in pursuit of that would destroy everything our Foremothers prayed for. It would be a betrayal ta the Goddess, and would doom future generations…

It would be the end of us.

***

“That’s so sad… that little girl.” Megan sniffled and stared at Illia with her hands folded tightly in her lap as she sat in the grass, listening intently. “Did she really die, Illia?”

Illia nodded solemnly. “Ah’m afraid so. Stories of the outside world are full of women being mistreated, abused, taken as property…”

“That doesn’t happen anymore… at least, not here.” Marc stood up from the grass. “You don’t talk like an ignorant villager, you sound educated. Haven’t your people noticed that things have changed as you watched us?”

“We do keep a constant watch on the people outside, but only a few of us, only ta look for suitable men, and make sure nobody’s coming close ta finding us. Occasionally they’ve also snuck back books or other things of interest we can use. Books on math, science, it helps us figure out how ta best avoid the outside world… and ah like ta read.” Illia replied.

“So YOU’VE never seen the outside world personally, how do you know what it’s like?” Megan asked.

“Ah’m starting ta realize that problem.” Illia nodded and looked down. “Maybe things have changed… when ah saw the girl in the lake saving her friend, ah thought to myself… those women don’t look like slaves or victims, but they came from the outside. Something’s wrong with that.”

“No, not wrong… something’s RIGHT with that, finally.” Megan puffed out her chest slightly. “We women on the outside have been working our butts off for years, and things are finally starting to get better. There’s still a ways to go, but we’ll get there eventually.”

“Aren’t you a little young ta’ve spent years doing something?” Illia asked curiously.

“She does what she can.” Marc flashed Megan an amused smile. Megan just smiled back with a raised eyebrow and a half-smirk. “Out of curiosity though, Illia, if we exposed that someone in the village tried to kill Megan, do you think the people would stand for it? Or help us depose them?”

“Anyone who still believes in the old ways would help us… but ah don’t know how many still do. If there are those who don’t, they’re keeping it hidden, ah never even suspected…”

“So we can’t rely on just coming out in the open with this or it could just cause a civil war…” Megan sighed. “We’re not getting anywhere, what do we do?”

“We have until morning, at least, and I know I haven’t slept much tonight.” Marc rubbed his eyes. “Maybe we should take an hour or two to rest and clear our heads. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that pushing yourself to figure something out only pushes the answer further and further away.”

“That’s a very wise observation.” Illia smiled slightly. “Okay, one hour…” She winced when there was a sudden crack of thunder overhead. The wind seemed to pick up suddenly out of nowhere, whistling among the tree branches like a screaming ghost. “Ah’m gonna lie down for a little while, ah’ll be back in a li’l bit.” She pushed herself up and turned to move through the trees, leaving Marc and Megan alone in the forest.

Marc sighed and flashed Megan a smile. “Things are getting pretty intense, huh?”

“Haha, yeah.” Megan rubbed the back of her neck. “We should rest too. Come on.” Megan moved over toward one of the trees and sat down, leaning her back against it. She patted the grass beside her with a smile, so Marc moved to take a seat next to her, leaning his back against the sturdy tree trunk. They sat in companionable silence for a little while, listening to the wind howl and the rain slap against the foliage high overhead, only to trickle slowly down around them.

“So…” Marc rubbed the back of his neck slightly, suddenly at a complete loss of what to say. He knew what was on his mind, but how to say it completely eluded him. He blinked and looked down when he felt a soft hand touch his knee, seeing Megan holding onto him with a gentle grip.

“Yeah, I know… awkward.” Megan forced a soft chuckle. “What do we do, Marc? Pretend it never happened? I mean… I guess it shouldn’t have happened but…”

“It would be right to just forget it and pretend it didn’t happen.” Marc told her softly. Megan nodded slowly and turned to look down at the grass, sliding her hand off of his knee. “But… what’s right is always changing, y’know? Everything is.”

“Can right and wrong really change?” Megan asked.

“According to history anyway… it all depends on what we think and feel.” Marc looked to the side at his sister, who was watching him with a curious look in her emerald green eyes. “So… I guess it’s up to you, Megan. What do you feel about it? Does it feel wrong?”

“I don’t know… I… kinda want to find out.” Megan blushed lightly. Marc couldn’t help a blush of his own as he gave her a smile, reaching his own hand over to rest it on Megan’s thigh. Megan stared back, shifting slightly closer to him with a smile lighting up her own lips.

A bit nervously, Marc raised one arm to slip it around her shoulders, slowly pulling her closer, letting her rest comfortably against his side along with the strong tree trunk against their backs. She looked down at his lips curiously, then back up at his eyes as she leaned slightly closer to him, and seemingly before he knew it, he could feel her soft lips pressed against his own. It was a strange sensation that sent a slight tingle racing through his frame, but it wasn’t exactly what he imagined it would be. He wasn’t sure what to do with his lips or his head, so he just sort of pushed as if trying to force her away from him.

It was his first kiss, he thought to himself, and it didn’t feel anything like the movies made it look. Should have expected that.

After a few moments their lips parted and they looked at each other, as if gauging each other’s reaction to it. Megan smacked her lips slightly and smiled. “The movies lie.”

Marc chuckled lightly, a broader smile spreading across his lips. “They sure do… but it still felt… nice. Your lips are soft.”

“Hehe, thanks.” Mega blushed. “I liked it too.” She leaned against him again, resting her cheek on his shoulder, while his arm wrapped around her back once again, holding her firmly up against his side. “What do you think Lee and Tony would say? Or mom and dad?”

“I don’t know… I think I might prefer if they didn’t find out about this. At least… until we’re fully comfortable.” Marc replied.

“Yeah, that makes sense.” Megan nodded with a deep yawn. “We should try to get some rest while we can… we need to be ready to help Tony and Lee.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s get some sleep.” Marc tightened his arm around her shoulders. With another cute yawn and a nod, Megan leaned up against his side, her breath quickly falling into a steady sleep pattern. Marc just held her gently against him, watching her peaceful face for a while before leaning back to look up into the leaves overhead. He tried to stay awake, to think of a way to get their brothers out of there… but he’d been roused from sleep suddenly, and what sleep he got had been fitful. It wasn’t long before he too was drifting off into the night.


	14. Exodus

“Tony… T.” A voice whispered into his dreams, making them swirl around his mind in a fading blur of light and color. A moment later it felt like he simply popped back to reality to feel a pair of gentle hands shaking his arm. “Tony, we have ta go.”

“Gguh… go…?” Tony rubbed his eyes and sat up slowly, looking around the room. It was still the middle of the night, and the sky outside the many windows was still pitch black besides the occasional crack of lightning far in the distance, and the sound of rain plopping down on the grass outside helped lure him into full consciousness. He didn’t see Mark anywhere, but he saw Lee still asleep on the other side of the room with Rachel trying to shake him awake as well. “What’s going on? Where’s Marc?”

“Tony, do ya trust me?” Serah asked him with a soft smile.

“What? Of course I do…” Tony grumbled back sleepily.

“Will you come with me, Tony? We need ta go, and we want you ta come with us. Please?” Serah smiled sweetly, taking one of his hands in both of hers.

“Oh… uh, sure.” Tony mumbled back. “Where are we going?”

“Ah don’t know yet… but we’ve gotta go in a hurry. Come on.” She pulled him slowly up from the bed and turned to lead him towards the door.

“What? Lee and Marc…” Tony pointed back into the cabin, but she pulled him out into the rain.

“Don’t worry, Rachel will get Lee, and we’ll find Marc. Ah promise. Now come on, quickly!” They rushed across the village. Tony was surprised to see that the glittering women all seemed to be gathered out in the rain, gathered on one side of the small field of huts where they muttered and whispered in hushed, strained tones. It looked like everyone was carrying their things with them… where were they going? Were they moving somewhere?

***

“Come on Lee, we have ta get going, Mother Marie said so.” Rachel gently pulled Lee out of the bed despite his crumbling protests. “Please, ya have ta trust me, something’s going wrong.”

“G-go?” Lee shook his head and finally stood up, looking around the small hut. He saw Tony being pulled out of the room by Serah, but he didn’t see Marc anywhere. His bed lay empty in the middle of the room. “Where are we going? What’s the problem?”

“Just trust me, come on.” Rachel pulled him away from his bed toward the exit, where they emerged into the cool night air. Lee looked around quickly. A flash of lightning in the distance showed that the women were gathered on the far side of the village, many carrying large bags of something like they were leaving on a long journey, and a few even had massive wooden wagons with wide leather tarps over them, hiding whatever was inside. He saw Tony standing at the edge of the crowd looking sleepy… but Marc was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey, where’s Marc?” Lee asked worriedly.

“Don’t worry, we’ll do our best ta find him.” Rachel reassured him softly as she tugged on his wrist. “We don’t have time, we have ta-“

“No, I’m not going anywhere until I know Marc is coming!” Lee held his ground, casting his eyes almost frantically around the village, through the rain and the occasional distant flash of lightning. “Where the heck is he?”

“Lee, ah promise, we’ll find him! We have ta go!” Rachel tried to pull him towards the group on the other side of the village, but Lee held fast, his fist clenching as he locked himself in place.

“I’m not going, I’m going to help you look for him.” Lee turned to glare at her purposefully, but she was regarding him with a cool, calculating eye. There was something in that look that he didn’t like. She certainly didn’t seem like she was worried about finding Marc. She didn’t seem like she was worried about anything, really. It was starting to creep him out. He tightened his fist and pulled his arm in a little more, setting his lips in a grim line as she moved closer with it. “Where’s Marc?”

“Ah don’t know.” Rachel replied simply. “We’ll find him if ya just come with us.”

“I’m not going anywhere until I know both of my brothers are coming.” Lee replied just as simply, with a tone of authority in his voice. “Help me look for him.” Rachel looked confused for a moment, as if she had no idea what to do. The sun was just beginning to rise in the distance, just enough to turn the pitch-black sky into a deep, dark blue, cut periodically by flashes of magnificent pearl light. She glanced behind her for a moment, then without warning whirled, planting a solid fist right in the side of Lee’s jaw.

“Gugh!” With a grunt Lee stumbled back, turning as quick as he could to see another fist flying towards his face, but this time he managed to jerk his head to the side while his own hand came up to deflect the blow. His feet scraped across the wet grass, carrying him back as his hands darted around to deflect two more surprisingly sharp blows from the formerly innocent-looking girl, who was quickly looking frustrated with the proceedings.

Finally Lee caught one of her punches in both hands and jerked her around in a hip-toss that planted her roughly on her back in the grass, slamming her down and stepping back with his hands at the ready. Rachel grunted and panted deeply, remaining on the grass trying to catch her breath from the surprise counterattack.

“Where’s Marc? What did you people do with him?” Lee demanded.

“She said she doesn’t know, kid, and she ain’t the lying kind.” Lee whirled to look behind him, seeing dozens of the girls from across the village now standing in a line, staring at him with threatening looks on their faces. At the front was their leader, Mother Marie, her eyes narrowed in displeasure as she eyed Lee up and down. “Ah’m sure this was all a terrible misunderstanding, just come on with us and we’ll forget this happened. Ya can be as happy as ever.”

Lee looked past them for any sign of Tony, but he seemed to have disappeared in the bigger crowd still gathered. “I’m not going anywhere with you anymore. Tell me where Marc and Tony are, I think it’s time we left.” Lee looked up at Marie angrily.

“Ah think that would be a mistake Lee. We have a lot ta offer ya yet.” Marie replied.

“That wasn’t a request!” Lee growled. Suddenly he knelt down as his boots began to whir, and he leapt into the sky with a great bound and a spring from the bottom of his boots, but one of the girls was faster than he was, leaping forward and catching his ankle with both hands before he could disappear out of reach. “H-hey! Let me go-oof!” Lee grunted as he came down hard, the girl’s arms slamming him into the grass in front of the crowd.

He moved to scramble to his feet, but the crowd was on him before he could even rise to his hands and knees. Their combined weight pushed him down roughly against the grass, pinning his arms and legs against the cold wet ground. He struggled his hardest, but there were just too many. His eyes wandered upwards as Marie walked up to look down at him.

“That was a mistake, Lee.” Marie told him firmly.

“What do we do, Mother?” One of the younger girls asked. “We still have Tony…”

“Ah want Lee with us, between he and his brother they could make us stronger than any one man alone. We’ve already lost one of them, we’re not going ta lose him too. Bring him with us, tie him down in one of the wagons if ya have to, and keep him out of sight until he comes around.”

“You can’t do this! I don’t even know what you want!” Lee resumed struggling as the girls surrounding him grabbed his arms and lifted him up off the grass. “You WON’T get away with this!”

“You’ll grow ta understand, kid. This ain’t about you or us, it’s about our future.” Marie gestured to the other girls gathered around. “Keep him separate while we travel… and keep him quiet.”

Lee growled. “I’m not gonna let you g-UGHN!” He grunted when something slammed suddenly into the back of his head, his vision blurring as his head slumped against his chest. “What do you… want with us…?”

“Relax, kid… you’ll come to understand… and you’ll come to appreciate it.” Marie’s words echoed in the growing silence until Lee finally fell into the darkness.

***

Sam growled and lowered the old-fahsioned binoculars from her eyes, watching the group of girls lift the unconscious boy off the grass and turn to rejoin the group on the other side of the village. They seemed to be hiding him among their numbers, though. They were definitely working separate from the rest of the village, but there was no way they could take advantage of that right now. If they showed their faces, they would be swarmed by their superior numbers. It made it even more difficult that they clearly knew how to fight…

“We can’t let them get away from us, but we need to meet up with Megan and Marc too.” Sam turned back to her two teammates and friends, who were watching her with focused expressions on their faces. “Alex, you look for Megan and Marc, they can’t be too far from here. Clover and I will tail the villagers to see where they’re headed.” She reached into her backpack to pull out the sleek silver bird Jerry had given her at WOOHP headquarters. “When you find them, use this to get in touch with us, and we’ll let you know where to join us.”

“Awww, it’s so cute.” Alex smiled brightly and took the bird from her, petting its steel back. “I wonder if Jerry can make me one in yellow…”

“Maybe I should stick with Alex, we’ll cover more ground if there are two of us looking.” Clover pointed out.

“No. You’re with me.” Sam glared at her.

“You’re not my BOSS, Sam. You can’t order me around.” Clover glared back.

“Clover, this is not the time or the place for this. If we let them get away, WOOHP would have no way to track them from the air, and we’ll never catch up to them. We’ll lose Lee and Tony for good. We can’t let that happen.”

“Fine then let’s freaking go.” Clover stood up and turned to move through the forest away from them, pushing her way through the bushes and low-hanging foliage.

Sam sighed, then turned her gaze on Alex again. “Be careful, we don’t know if there are any villagers lingering behind to look for us.”

“Yeah, I got it…” Alex hesitated. “Are you two gonna be okay?”

“Just find the kids, that’s what we’re here to do.” Sam stood and turned to follow quickly after Clover, rushing to catch up with her.

A glance inside the small village clearing showed that the buildings stood silent now in the growing orange light of the morning sun, silent and abandoned as the last of the villagers vanished into the trees beyond the village’s border. Sam wasn’t sure how they got their bigger carriages through, but she supposed they would know these woods inside and out. They would know the best routes to take.

She caught up with Clover quickly, falling into step beside her, moving shoulder-to-shoulder through the thick forest, brushing leaves and bushes out of their way as they went. “Clover, listen, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to abandon you, but staying would have just-“

“Gotten you captured too, yeah, I know.” Clover replied curtly. “Just forget it. I don’t even know why I’m mad, I KNOW you did the only thing you could do. It just…”

Sam reached up one hand to grip her shoulder, turning to look at her glittering face. “I know…”

Clover met her eyes for a moment, then looked down with a sigh. “You make it so hard to be pissed off at you sometimes.”

“We can’t afford to be fighting right now, not in the middle of a mission.” Sam told her. Clover just nodded and walked on without looking at her. Suddenly Clover grabbed Sam’s arm and yanked her behind a tree. They both peeked out around it to see the women of the village moving through the forest a short distance away, the bigger wagons being pulled carefully along the wider paths by several of the stronger women, since they lacked pack animals. Everyone else walked in several lines single-file like an army going to war. Many of them looked nervous and frightened.

Sam and Clover exchanged a glance, then moved to follow the village, letting the silence fall between them as they turned their minds towards more important business.


	15. Mingling

The sun was up, Alex noted as she peered up through the treeline above her. Not that it would help much once it moved behind the clouds again. The rain had begun to dry off a bit, and the lightning had stopped a while ago, she suddenly realized. With everything that was going on she’d barely noticed. Sam and Clover were at each other’s throats, Lee and Tony were being taken hostage somewhere far away, Megan and Marc were missing in the forest. She just hoped Sam and Clover worked out their problems… she hated it when they started fighting.

She yelped and whirled suddenly when she heard the bush rustle behind her, dropping into a fighting stance and putting her hands up in front of her. A redheaded girl about thirteen years old raised her hands quickly with a squeak of surprise.

“It’s okay! Ah don’t wanna fight!” The girl assured her quickly. “Ah’m Illia, Marc’s friend… you’re one of the girls from the lake last night.”

“Yeah… I thought I heard someone out there. I’m Alex.” Alex raised her eyebrow. “What are you doing out here? Shouldn’t you be with the rest of the village?”

“What do ya mean?” Illia aked.

“They left… they’re leaving the forest, we think.” Alex told her.

Illia’s eyes widened and she looked down at the grass. “Crap, they realized we were gone too soon… oh man…” She reached up to rub her forehead with both hands. “Ah shouldn’t have fallen asleep.”

“Hey, it’s okay, my friends are on their tail. They won’t get away.” Alex approached the girl with a kind smile and leaned down on her knees so that they were face-to-face. “So you’re the girl who got Marc to leave the village, huh? That was very brave of you.”

“Ah just didn’t know what they were gonna do ta him when they asked me ta bring him in. It seemed funny ta me.” Illia looked up at her.

“I think you were right. Do you know where Marc and Megan are? We need to bring them with us so we can follow your people.”

“A’course, ah left them over here.” Illia whirled to jog through the forest, carefully picking her way through the foliage. Alex stood up straight and followed behind her, following the trail of long red hair that weaved through the green. It wasn’t long before they reached a much smaller clearing in the forest, where Alex was surprised to see the two kids huddled at the base of a tree, both snoozing with Megan’s head propped against Marc’s shoulder, and both of his arms wrapped around her. It was a surprisingly intimate position. Then again, after what they’d both been through lately, she couldn’t blame them for being clingy. Besides, they looked kind of-

“Awww, that’s cute.” Alex said out loud with a smile. She moved past Illia to the two kids and knelt down in front of them, reaching out with both arms to lightly shake each of their shoulders. “Hey, come on, we have to get moving.”

“Mmuh…?” Megan groaned and blinked her eyes open, looking up at Alex. She gasped and sat up straight, looking up at the trees. “The sun is out! Oh man, we fell asleep! Marc! Wake up!”

“Huh? Megan?” Marc snorted and opened his eyes slowly, gasping when he saw Alex leaning over in front of them. “Aah!”

“Hey! Relax! It’s just me! Alex!” Alex raised her hands disarmingly.

“Alex! What happened? The sun’s up!” Marc looked up at the sky, then looked over to meet Megan’s eyes. Alex swore she saw the two youngsters blush, but she didn’t have time to pursue it.

“While you guys were asleep, the villagers took off and took Lee and Tony with them. Clover and Sam are on their tail, but we need to catch up to them quickly.”

“Okay!” Megan climbed to her feet quickly, stumbling slightly as she reached her feet. Marc caught her swiftly, wrapping his arms around her torso again to hold her up. “Whoa… I think I stood up too fast…”

“Maybe you two should get back to WOOHP. Sam, Clover and I will follow the villagers.” Alex told them worriedly.

“No! I told you, I won’t leave my brothers to-“

Marc interrupted her swiftly. “She’s right, Megan. You need proper medical attention to make sure there’s nothing seriously wrong.” Marc’s voice softened into a soothing tone. “You’ve done a good job so far, but you need to rest. At least for a while. I’ll come with you.” Megan stared at him sharply for a moment, then sighed and nodded in acceptance.

Alex took out her Compowder curiously. “If they’re taking their jamming equipment with them, maybe…” She tried to link up to WOOHP… and was thrilled when Jerry’s head appeared on the screen. “Jerry, the village is on the move. Clover and Sam are following them, but we need an evac for Megan and Marc pronto. Megan’s been injured.”

“Oh dear, I’ll send a hoverjet to your location right away. Good work, Alex.” Jerry’s head vanished from the screen quickly.

“What about Illia?” Marc turned toward their redheaded friend. “She betrayed her people to save me, we can’t just ditch her here.”

“Maybe Jerry will let her come with us.” Megan suggested.

“I’m sure he will.” Alex looked down at Illia with a smile. “Just wait here, Jerry will be along any minute to pick you guys up, but I have to join the others… as soon as they tell me where they are.” Alex reached into her bag after her bird, taking it out and rapidly typing a message onto the small screen glowing on its stomach. “I hope you can find Sammie… go!” She threw the thing into the air, and it instantly took flight, vanishing through the trees far overhead.

“Relax, Megan. You deserve some rest.” Marc told her with a soft, caring smile. Megan just smiled back, leaning warily against him.

They all looked up as the sound of the WOOHP jet approaching came near, the wind from the many engines on the underside threatening to push them over as one of the vehicle doors opened and Jerry stepped up to the entrance, looking down at them. Alex turned to the two younger spies to give them an encouraging smile and salute just as a long metal tube slid from the bottom of the jet. It loomed over them for only an instant before it turned on like a giant vacuum, sucking Megan and Marc through the long shaft for several seconds before they emerged into the belly of the jet, hitting the floor side-by-side with Illia landing a few feet away.

“Oowww… not helping…” Megan groaned, arching her back on the floor.

“My apologies, Megan.” Jerry moved to stand over them with an odd expression on his face, reaching his hands down towards them. Megan and Marc exchanged a curious glance, then each took one of his hands, letting him pull them to their feet. “I’m so glad you turned up safe, when you disappeared from WOOHP radar I…” Jerry trailed off, then turned away from them abruptly. “It will take a few minutes to reach WOOHP HQ. Take the time to rest… you’ve earned it.”

“Okay…” Megan looked up at him, then stepped forward to hug him lightly around the waist. “Thanks for coming for me, Jerry.”

Jerry looked down at her with a soft smile on his lips, lowering his hands to touch hers lightly. “I’m just glad you’re all okay.” He patted her hands, then turned to head towards the front of the ship as Megan released him, stepping back towards her brother, who was watching with his arms crossed over his stomach and a smile on his lips.

The two of them exchanged a knowing glance and another soft hug.

***

It felt like the journey was passing by at a snail’s pace. Then again, he was still pretty tired after being woken up so early, Tony thought to himself as the strange caravan wound its way through the forest. He wondered where they were going, and why… but he didn’t care enough to really worry about it. He just leaned against Serah with his cheek resting on her shoulder, watching the land pass by the small wagon he rode on. It was being pulled by a couple of the villagers trading off the burden rather than horses, but it kind of made him feel like an old-Westerner or something.

“Are ya okay, Tony? Ya’ve been pretty quiet today.” Serah told him softly as one arm snaked around his waist.

“Yeah, I’m okay, I guess.” Tony nodded. “You guys found Lee and Marc, right?”

“Don’t worry about that. We’re taking care of your brothers.” Serah spoke softly, running her fingers gently over his bare arm. “You’re shiverin’.”

“Oh, it’s just a little cold out here.” Tony forced a smile. He still hadn’t found his shirt after the first day, and the rain felt like it was starting to blow harder as they approached the edge of the forest, spraying the drizzling raindrops into their faces. He felt Serah move back slightly, moments before a thick fur blanket was draped over his shoulders and pulled around his torso by a pair of gentle hands. She gave him a soft smile as she pulled it closed in the front.

“There. That any better?”

“A lot, thanks.” Tony smiled back. “So… where are we going, anyway?”

“Ah really don’t know yet.” Serah replied honestly. “Mother Marie thought it was time ta move on, so we’re movin’ on. It happens every once in a while, the stories say.”

“Oh… well, I guess moving is okay. Mm… hey, Serah? What about my parents?”

“What about them?” Serah asked curiously.

“I kinda wanna go back and see them again.” Tony told her in a soft voice, as if hiding it from the others. “I know I said I wanted to stay here, but… can’t I just go back for a while?”

“That’s… not really something ah can answer, T. Ya’ll have ta ask Mother Marie.” Serah replied. Tony looked down at the grass with a nod, but he looked over at her hand when he felt it take one of his with a firm grip. “Try not ta worry so much, we’re here ta give you anything you want. Food, clothes, anything. You’ve earned it with the way ya’ve given so much for the world.”

Tony turned to look up at her, then gasped when she leaned in to kiss him lightly on the cheek. His cheeks blushed bright red, but he didn’t pull away from her or protest, instead leaning his cheek against her shoulder again and turning to face forward as the light from the sun seemed to grow more intense. They were just emerging from the edge of the forest out into the open grassy fields surrounding it. The wind picked up the moment they left, whipping across their little caravan almost strong enough to topple some of the wagons over, but they trudged onward regardless. At least the rain and lightning had stopped.

***

“Damnit!” Sam swore under her breath from the edge of the tree line as the caravan slipped out of the trees to head across the grassy fields beyond. “How are we supposed to tail them across that? There’s no cover to hide in!”

“Maybe we can pretend to be some friendly ducks?” Clover mused with a smirk.

“Hmm…” Sam looked at her for a moment, then put a hand to her chin. “You know, I think you’re on to something, Clover.”

“Uh… I was being sarcastic.” Clover told her drolly. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Just fine.” Sam pulled out her Compowder and pressed a few buttons on the face. A soft light flashed, sweeping over her body, and moments later she was crouched in the bushes wearing sleek leather and fur skirt and sports bra combo, with her skin coated in body-glitter. It wasn’t as bright as the villagers’ skin, but it should be enough from a distance. “There, part one of the disguise, complete.”

“Okay, you look like a whore, now what? You can’t expect us to blend in, they totally know our faces.” Clover reminded her.

“Just follow my lead.” Sam turned to move through the bushes. With a confused shrug Clover used her own Compowder to change into a similar outfit and soon followed after, until they were close enough to jump on one of the wagons if they wanted to. By now the very last stragglers were just moving up to their position, some older girls who seemed to be keeping watch, likely in case Clover and Alex decided to show up.

The girls slipped silently up through the brush behind the girls, checking to make sure they really were the last two before leaping out onto the small trail. Sam and Clover reached the girls at the same time, wrapping an arm around each girls’ throat and putting a hand over her mouth to drag her back into the bushes. The girls struggled at first, but it wasn’t long before they passed out from the arms cutting off their windpipes.

“I’m still not seeing it, Sammy.” Clover told her. “Are you sure you know what we’re doing?”

“It’s been a while since we left WOOHP… things have gotten better.” Sam reached into her backpack and pulled out a seemingly normal hand mirror with a grin on her face. She raised it in front of her, pointing it at the girl in front of her. After a brief flash from the mirror, suddenly Sam’s face looked identical to that of the unconscious woman.

“Holy crap that’s cool!” Clover snatched the mirror from her with a grin. “You think it can make me look like Angelina Jolie?”

“Probably, but I don’t think that would be practical right now.” Sam smirked.

“Yeah, yeah…” Clover quickly pointed the mirror at the girl in front of her, taking her face and quickly using her Compowder to mimic her clothing as well until she and Sammy were both perfect replicas of the two girls.

“It almost seems too easy.” Clover mused as she stood up straight in her new disguise. “We don’t need makeup or anything.”

“Hey, it’s easy, but it works… huh?” The girl with Sam’s voice looked up in surprise as a metal thing circled above their heads for a moment, then came flying down towards them. “Alright, Alex must have found the other kids!” Sam raised her arm so the bird could land on it, bringing it down to head level to read the text glowing in the small screen on its stomach. “Yep, says she found them, but she’s gonna be sending them back to WOOHP. Megan’s not feeling too well.”

Clover nodded. “It’s for the best, she didn’t look so hot last time we saw her either… even if she did save me and Alex from the lake.”

Sam quickly typed a reply into the small screen. “Heading South… follow as soon as possible… crossing plains, so be careful to stay out of sight. We’ll be infiltrating the village.” Sam finished and lowered the bird to talk into its head. “Find Alex, hurry!” She thrust her arm up, sending the bird skyward, where its wings opened and it immediately whirled to head deeper into the forest.

“Hey! Are ya two coming!” A voice shouted from further ahead. “We’re gonna leave ya behind if ya don’t hurry up!”

“Sorry, had to… ta take care of some natural business!” Sam shouted back, then glanced at Clover, doing her best to mimic the villagers’ curious accent. “Time ta mingle.” The two of them turned to jog after the woman, who’d already turned to run across the grass to catch up with the moving caravan. It was moving a lot faster now that they’d left the forest. Hopefully Alex still had time to catch up to them…


	16. On the Inside

The villagers were quietly talking among themselves as if they were gathered around a campfire rather than in the middle of a long march across the grasslands on their way to parts unknown. The fierce winds whipped against their skin, though finally they began to blow away the deep clouds that had haunted them for the last few days. Far behind the pack the two undercover WOOHP agents walked side-by-side, their keen eyes taking in everything they could see in front of them. Searching, scanning for any piece of information they could use to break up the horrible conspiracy of kidnapping and potential abuse, and put an end to it.

“God this is boring…” Clover muttered under her breath. Sam just rolled her eyes and kept walking until finally another pair of girls broke from the caravan to move over to them.

“Alright, we’ve got the next shift. Take a rest, ya did a good job.” One of the girls told them with a smile.

“Jah, we did… well, we’ll see ya next time ya need ta rast yah mateys…” Clover gave her a salute before she and Sam moved further into the crowd, avoiding the confused gaze of their replacements.

“Please don’t speak again.” Sam told her with a teasing smirk. “Our cover is kind of important right now.”

Clover stuck her tongue out at her before whispering. “I’m just glad to be out of the back of the pack. Now we can get some serious spying done.”

“Right.” Sam whispered back. “Split up and look for Tony and Lee, we’ll meet back behind this wagon in thirty minutes.” Sam gestured to one of the wagons nearby being pulled by two of the stronger looking women.

“Sir yes sir.” Clover flashed her a slightly bitter salute before turning to make her way through the caravan, speeding up to move faster than the group. They were making good time at a steady pace, but not so fast that she had to run to move up the line. Most of the younger girls were riding on the wagons toward the front while the older ones walked along the grass in groups, chatting among themselves like they were on a leisurely day trip.

Suddenly Clover felt an arm slip around her waist, and when she turned to see what it was a pair of lips pressed firmly into hers.

“Hrmph!?” Clover yelped into the pair of soft lips before the girl her own age pulled back with a smile and a wink.

“Hey Chloe, how was guard duty? Was it as boring as ya thought it would be?” The girl asked. It took Clover a moment to remember she was wearing someone else’s face at the moment.

“Uh… y-yeah, like totally.” Clover forced a grin onto her face, trying her best to emulate the villagers’ strange accents. “So glad ta have that over with.”

“Wow, are ya okay? Yer voice sounds completely different.” The girl asked worriedly.

“Oh, uh… ah have a cold I… ah’m afraid.” Clover coughed into one hand. “Lots o’ walkin’ away from tha rest of the girls…”

“Awww, ah hate it when ya get sick.” The girl grinned slyly up at her, running a hand along her arm. “Don’t worry, ah know how ta get ya nice and warm…” She winked and turned to pull Clover towards one of the nearby wagons.

“Gah!” Clover yelped as she was pulled along behind the mischievous girl. Several other girls noticed them and either snickered or rolled their eyes, but none moved to stop them. Apparently this was a normal thing for this pair. They moved toward the wagon Clover and Sam had agreed to hide behind. All of the wagons were covered with thick leather tarps, which the girl pulled up slightly as she sat on the back, winking at Clover.

“Come on, ah don’t think anyone’ll mind.”

“Ahh…. Ah don’t know… ah’m VERY sick! Ahuck! Ahuck!” Clover tried to sound like she was gagging, but the girl just grabbed her wrist.

“Then ya HAVE ta get outta the wind!” She dragged Clover forward and pulled her under the tarp with a giggle, sliding right in after her and letting it settle back into place overhead. The leather was fairly thin, allowing just enough light through so that it wasn’t pitch black underneath, but not enough that Clover could clearly see what was inside. Strangely, though, Clover didn’t feel anything in her direct vicinity. It felt like it was empty.

“It IS kinda cozy in heAH!” Clover gasped when she was suddenly turned onto her back, and felt the girl’s body slide smoothly up against hers, climbing on top of her. “Uh… ya know ah love ya babe… but… but um…”

“Babe? What does THAT mean?” The girl asked curiously.

Clover gulped. Her cover was about to be blown unless she came up with an amazing distraction. Well… here went nothing. Clover wrapped her arms around the girl’s throat and planted a deep, passionate kiss on her lips, feeling the girl’s lips immediately open in acceptance as her body nearly melted on top of her. Strangely, Clover thought to herself, it wasn’t as icky as it imagined. The girl was very soft.

The kiss continued for several minutes before slowly the girl began to roll them over, so that Clover was on top. She put her hands on the girl’s shoulders, holding them tightly as they turned, until the girl’s shoulder hit something else soft that felt like a pillow. Clover ignored it, her mind racing with possibilities about how to get out of this. Sam would never forgive her if she found out Clover spent her thirty minutes making out with some random girl. Then again, she did tell Clover to maintain her cover, and the girl was very soft and pleasant to the touch…

Clover’s eyes twitched open in confusion when she heard a distinctly male moan. She broke the kiss and looked down at the girl, who stared back with a blank gaze.

“Did you…?” The girl asked.

“Nuh-uh…” Clover replied. “You?”

“Nope…” The girl replied. They both gasped when they heard the moan again, and finally looked toward the pillow. Now that they were closer, they could see the form of a boy in a bright red suit lying right next to them, his arms and legs bound against his body with several lengths of thin steel line, and several layers of gags placed across his mouth. He looked like he was unconscious, but the rising and falling of his chest at least said he was alive.

“Lee!” Clover hissed in surprise and climbed off of the girl, scooting up to his side to make sure he was okay.

“Lee? One o’ the boys who came to the village?” The girl asked in surprise. “Ah thought Mother Marie said he left. What’s he doin’ here?” Clover shot her a sharp glance. Her surprise seemed genuine… that probably meant she wasn’t in on Mother Marie’s conspiracy. “Chloe, do ya know something about this?” The girl’s expression turned apprehensive.

“Yeah, ah think ah do. Ah think Mother Marie’s been lying to us.” Clover replied, finally feeling like she was getting a hang of the accent. “She musta kidnapped the boy ta keep him from leaving.”

“What!?” The girl’s eyes widened. “But she wouldn’t… she can’t FORCE boys ta help spawn the next generation, we’ll curse the entire village!”

“Well ah think she is.” Clover turned toward her. “And ah need yer help ta stop her.”

“What? Chloe, ah… ah don’t know…” The girl looked down worriedly.

Clover reached out and took one of her hands, holding it tightly in her own. “You have to, we can’t let Mother Marie do this to him. He doesn’t want to be here, he wants to go home, but she won’t let him. She’s going to force him to…” She trailed off.

The girl stared at her, her eyes widening slightly, then turning to look down at Lee. “Ah guess yer right…”

“Thanks.” Clover flashed her a smile, then turned back to the boy. “Here, help me get this off of him.” She moved to undo the gag over the boy’s mouth, while her partner moved to help. They eventually unwound the many pieces of cloth, during the process of which Lee’s drowsy eyes fluttered for a moment, then snapped open in surprise. “Relax! We’re friends!” Clover insisted quickly. “Just be quiet, we need to be careful.”

“Why’re you helping me?” Lee whispered once he was able to speak.

“Mah friend thinks yer bein’ held here against yer will… is it true?” The girl asked tentatively.

“Well, I didn’t tie MYSELF up, if that answers your question.” Lee grumbled and struggled against the wire for only a moment. “Ow, darnit, it’s too thin. I’ll cut myself before I get it off.”

“Just relax, we’re working on a way to get you out of here.” Clover told him. Lee looked up at her oddly, and Clover gave him a conspiratorial wink that her companion couldn’t see.

“Right…” Lee looked over at the other girl.

“Ah’m Karen. This is mah partner, Chloe.” The girl told him. Clover heaved an inward sigh of relief. At least now she didn’t have to ask the girl’s name.

“Lee, nice to meetcha.” Lee smirked and laid his head on the wood with a ‘thump’.

“We’re going to get you out of here, but we need to meet with Sa… my friend, first.” Clover glanced at Karen. “Just hold tight here, Lee, we’ll be back ASAP.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Lee smirked.

“Come on, let’s go.” Clover put her hand on Karen’s shoulder and turned to lead her out of the wagon. Lee heaved a sigh and rolled onto his back, staring up at the tarp hiding him from the outside world. He really hated enclosed spaces.

***

Sam moved further up the line, walking close to some of the other wagons to lift their tarps and see what was underneath. She acted as calm as she could, as if she belonged there, and nobody thought to bother her. Several of them were uncovered anyway, being ridden by those girls who hadn’t hit puberty yet and couldn’t handle extremely long-distance travel. She hesitated for a moment when she saw Tony sitting at the front of one of these wagons, being held by one of the girls, but she couldn’t stop to talk to him or she’d draw attention to herself. So she made a mental note of where he was and moved on.

The other wagons were bulky things, mostly carrying what looked like big piles of small sentimental trinkets or large packages of food and water they would need during the journey. However, up at the front she noticed the head wagon was significantly larger than the others, and Mother Marie herself was one of the women pulling it along. Squinting her eyes, Sam thought she could see the soft glow of machine lights underneath the thin leather.

That had to be the device Clover had told her about and, in all likelihood, the signal jammer that stopped them from using their Compowders. This was an interesting opportunity, Sam thought to herself, but she didn’t dare move into range of Mother Marie. She was a sharp one, too sharp to risk coming face-to-face with her. Still, there was something she could do.

Stretching her back in a show of exhaustion, Sam moved up behind the wagon, keeping a discreet eye to make sure she wasn’t being watched too closely. A few women looked her way, but they quickly turned back to what they were doing, pulling other wagons or talking among themselves. She pulled a small tube out of her fur skirt, lifting the tarp just enough so she could slip it underneath and roll it towards the center of the wagon. She heard the small metal tube clink lightly against something metallic. This was definitely the jamming device.

“Where are we going to settle, Mother?” Sam tilted her head interestedly when she heard a voice speak from the front of the head wagon, a soft, worried voice. “Simply leaving has never been done in the history of our people…”

“Ah know… but the risk was getting too great.” A far stronger, authoritative voice replied. The voice of Mother Marie. It sounded strained by her exertions pulling the wagon, but no less forceful for it. “If we waited one more night, we risked being discovered. They were too close, too aggressive. They were about ta take us back ta the outside.”

“Do ya really think so?” The other voice squeaked. “Wow, ah didn’t know it was that bad…”

“They already took Caroline and Illia… ah won’t let them take anyone else.” Marie said firmly.

“They did…?” The other girl’s voice shook. “Ah, ah understand, Mother Marie…” Her voice lowered to say something else, but Sam couldn’t make out what it was.

“We’ll be alright, Michelle. Ah promise. We’ll find a new place to make our home, and they won’t find us again. Just keep yer eyes open fer any sign of them.” Marie told her softly.

“Ah will, ah will.” Michelle insisted quickly, and her voice faded as she made her way further into the caravan, walking straight past Sam without looking at her.

Sam looked down at the wagon in front of her, then slowed down, letting the rest of the caravan pass by slowly so she wouldn’t have to call attention to herself by going backwards. It was time to meet Clover, but something was bothering her about this. Marie almost sounded… sincere.


	17. Devotion Above All

The hum of the jet was strangely disconcerting, Illia thought to herself as the massive metal thing cut through the sky like an arrow. It felt so strange, so… unnatural for something like this to even exist, let alone for her to be riding in it. She could feel the cold and vibrations through her bare feet, a stark difference from the soft moisture of the grassy fields she was used to. 

She’d read about airplanes in some of the older books brought to the village, but nothing like this metal monster. Yet when she turned to look at Megan, who was laid out across a cushion set up in the back of the jet, and Marc, who was sitting on the floor beside her holding her hand, they seemed so comfortable with it. As if they barely even noticed it. It felt wrong, somehow.

But it was all about what she thought, she supposed. That was what Marc had told her… and it seemed to be true. They didn’t seem bothered by it at all. They didn’t seem like bad people, either, just… different.

She turned to look out the window, and nearly fell over from the sight below her. The trees and forests seemed to just suddenly give way to a jungle of a very different sort. Massive stone and glass buildings reached as tall as the clouds, connected by hard, cold paths along which more metal things… cars, if she remembered correctly, rolled in every direction like ants building a hill. The place was spotted with green, but it was always overtaken by the structures around it.

“Your first time in a city.” Marc walked up behind her. “Probably a bit of a shock.”

“Ah’ve read about cities… but ah never imagined anything like this.” Illia turned to look back at him with wide eyes. “It’s like the forest was just… destroyed.”

“I guess that’s not an inaccurate description… but we try to do what we can to save what we can.” Marc told her. “Especially Megan… don’t bring it up with her, trust me.”

“Ah see.” Illia turned to look out the window again, putting one hand against it. “Ah don’t know if ah could live in a place like this.”

“There are places that aren’t so big. You don’t have to live HERE.” Marc moved up beside her to look out the window. “There’s all kinds of places in the world. Big ones like this, small ones where there’s more grass, dirt. There are even villages kind of like yours, that aren’t cut off from the rest of the world.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely.” Marc nodded with a smile. “It all depends on where you want to go and how you want to live. Whatever feels right to you.”

“Mmm…” Illia nodded and looked out the window again. “Right ta me… oh, we’re goin’ toward that building there!” Illia pointed forward when she noticed the plane barreling straight toward one of the buildings in the middle of the city.

“Don’t worry, that’s WOOHP Headquarters. That’s our destination.” Marc assured her. “Come on, we’re going to be landing momentarily. Can you help me get Megan up?”

“Of course.” Illia nodded and moved across the plane with him. Together they lifted the girl off of the floor. She had been moving okay in the forest, but after spending so much time on the plane she seemed stiff and unsteady on her feet. Marc explained that the adrenaline was wearing off, but Illia didn’t pay it much mind. She was too busy trying to wrap her head about all of this as they helped the girl off the plane and into the even colder steel interior of the massive building.

“We’ll get Megan to the infirmary ASAP.” Jerry clapped his hands together, signaling several men in white coats to descend upon them and quickly pull the girl into a chair with wheels on it. Marc, you go with her. Illia, if you don’t mind, I’d like you to take a little walk with me.” Jerry gave her a soft, kind smile.

“Oh… of course. Ah hope your sister’s okay, Marc.” She told him.

“Me too… thanks.” Marc smiled back before turning to follow the white-coated men out of the room with his sister in the chair.

Jerry put a hand on Illia’s shoulder and turned to lead her out of the room, leading her down the cold metal hallway beyond. “I understand you assisted Marc when you could have turned him in back there. That was very admirable.”

“Ah just don’t want my people ta become… that.” Illia replied hesitantly.

“And that is precisely what is so admirable about you.” Jerry told her. “I’m glad you helped them escape… but I’m afraid this isn’t over yet. We already have someone here from your village, someone I think knows more than she’s telling us…”

“Huh?” Illia looked up at him. “What do ya mean?”

“It should be impossible, but I think she’s actually resisted our questioning methods to an extent. But you, coming from her village, might get the information we need.”

“Ah guess… ah mean, ah don’t wanna BETRAY mah people…”

“Of course not. We don’t want to hurt your people, we just want to make sure they aren’t harming US. Do you understand?” Jerry asked her softly.

“Yeah… ah think so.” Illia looked down. “Ah’ll ask… but ah can’t guarantee anything.”

“Of course. Asking is all I… well, ask.” Jerry chuckled lightly. Illia didn’t smile back, looking straight ahead as they moved into a room, mostly dark, with a fancy looking machine sitting in the dead center of it. On the far side she saw a pane of glass, on the other side of which she saw a familiar girl leaning against the wall on a small cot. Her skin had long lost its glitter, leaving her flesh a sickly pale color other than the dark circles under her sleepless eyes.

“It’s been too long since she bathed in the Lake of Purity.” Illia said worriedly. “We gotta get her back there, before she gets weak…”

“Lake of purity?” Jerry looked down at her, then pursed his lips thoughtfully. He ran one finger across her cheek, pulling some of the glittering substance from it. “Don’t worry, we don’t want to harm her. But we need those answers before we can let her go. If she isn’t involved with our current predicament, then we have no reason to detain her.”

“R-right…” Illia took a deep breath and moved toward the room. Jerry opened the door for her, allowing her to step inside.

Caroline instantly looked toward her, her dark eyes going wide. “Oh Goddess no, Illia, they got you too…?”

“No, they didn’t… ah came here myself.” Illia walked toward her. “Something bad’s been happening at our village. Ah think Mother Marie is trying ta corrupt us.”

“She’s trying ta save us! She…” Caroline drifted off.

“Ya know something…” Illia moved closer, until she could reach out and take one of her hands. “Caroline, why would Mother Marie do this? What’s going on? She’ll curse us all!”

“No, there is no curse, Illia, and even if there is…” Caroline closed her eyes, turning away from her. “We’ll take the curse ta keep our village alive…”

“Ah don’t get it. If we don’t have these boys, we can find others. Why are they so important? Why now?” Illia asked.

“Because… we older girls don’t have much longer, Illia.” Caroline looked down at her solemnly. “We didn’t want ta tell ya until we had to but… our people don’t live too long, and we old girls are coming on our final years.”

“What…?” Illia’s eyes widened. “Final years? But… but the books, they all said people could live to sixty, seventy…”

“But we never do. Twenty… thirty… that’s all we get. If we don’t get the next generation coming up soon, ya’ll will have ta bear them yerselves, raise them yerselves. We can’t let ya go through that alone.” She gripped Illia’s hand tightly with a smile. “Ah helped raise ya Illia, with mah mother… but not mah mother’s mother. It’s always been like that. But if we don’t hurry now, we won’t be able ta. It’s taken too long ta find them…”

“This… doesn’t make any sense.” Illia shook her head in bewilderment. But she couldn’t deny it. With the sparkle faded from her skin, she could see the strangely pale color of Caroline’s flesh, completely different from what the books described, different from Marc, Megan, Jerry… everyone else she’d seen from the outside. She looked so pale and thin.

“What she’s saying is true.” Illia and Caroline both whirled to the exit, seeing Jerry just walking inside to meet them. He had his hands in his pockets, though two guards were stationed behind him. “The substance coating your skin is the same as the substance Sam left with me earlier, and I’ve finished my analysis of it. It’s highly electromagnetic, completely impervious to electronic detection or impulses… but chemical tests show it to be highly toxic.”

“Toxic!?” Illia’s eyes widened and she whirled on Caroline. “Did ya know that!?”

“It doesn’t matter Illia… this is how we live… you’ll understand someday.” Caroline smiled sadly.

“No, no, ya can’t just roll over and die!” Illia reached up to rub furiously at her face with both hands.

“Illia, don’t…” Caroline tried to stop her, but Illia continued, bits of water and sparkles falling to the floor. At last Illia looked up again, her own sickly pale, but more filled out skin bright white in the harsh lights of the interrogation room.

“We don’t have ta kill ourselves, Caroline… things can change. Things have changed.”

“Illia… the outside is…”

“Better than death.” Illia took a deep breath, trying to get herself under control, but she could feel her mind reeling. The tears stung her eyes, but she didn’t turn away and her voice didn’t waver when she spoke. “Ah don’t want ya ta die yet, Caroline… why would ya purposely make me see that? Ah don’t want anyone ta die before they have to… I…” She finally blinked and turned away, marching toward the door. Jerry stepped aside to let her out, turning to look after her with a concerned gaze.

She couldn’t look at him, she couldn’t look at Caroline. Everyone she knew was being poisoned, knowingly poisoned, just so they could live apart from the world outside of their little bubble. If it was between watching her friends and family die, and living out here… she would make it change.

***

Marc opened the door slowly, peeking his eyes into the small WOOHP recovery room. There were several beds inside, but only one of them was occupied, by a girl rubbing a strange white ointment onto the sores on her legs and feet. Her paper hospital gown crinkled and crackled as she worked, and she hissed through her teeth whenever the ointment touched one of the bright red gashes. She looked up when the door squeaked a little wider.

“It’s okay, you can come in, Marc. The doctor said I have a few minor infections… have to use this every couple of hours until they go away.” Megan explained.

Marc entered the room, closing the door behind him and moving up beside the bed, sitting his hip on the edge of it. “It could have been worse… a lot worse.”

“Yeah, believe me, I know. I could barely move when I first woke up.” Megan shook her head. “I’ve been trying not to think about it.”

“Sorry…”

“It’s okay. All’s well that ends well, right?” Megan flashed him a smile. “Would you mind putting some on my back?” she held the small bottle up to him.

“Sure.” Marc took the bottle and slid to sit on the bed behind her. She reached back to open the back of the gown, exposing her back down to her waist. Her flesh was covered with gashes and cuts, some deeper and longer than others, and her lower back looked like it was a swollen bright red color. “Geeze, Megan, this kind of damage would make Lee break down and cry. How are you not sobbing right now?”

“Pain pills. I’m taking those for a while too. I feel great.” Megan giggled.

“You’ve got to be the strongest of us to go for two days like this without any treatment. I don’t think I could have done it.” Marc pulled off his gloves, then spread some ointment on his hands so he could begin rubbing it gently over the gashes on her back, starting with the ones down low near the base of her spine. He felt Megan wince at his touch, but she didn’t cry out.

Megan giggled softly, her fingers tightening on the thin bedsheets in front of her as his hands worked the ointment softly into her wounds. Marc stayed focused on the task at hand, moving his way up her back, his fingers poking their way off to one side in search of one of the harder-to-reach gashes. 

Suddenly Megan’s arm jerked downward with a giggle. “Hey, come on, what was THAT for!? You know I’m ticklish!”

“Hey, sorry! I was just trying to reach the cuts! I don’t want any of them to get infected.” Marc blushed.

“Well be careful!” Megan’s giggles subsided into deep breathing and Marc resumed his work. As his fingers rubbed into the cuts and bruises along her back and sides he could still feel her trembling under his touch, sputtering noises coming from her mouth until she exploded into laughter again, falling back against him with an uproarious belly laugh.

Marc caught her with a blush, though he couldn’t help laughing along with her. “Come on Megan! I’m doing my best here!”

“I know! I know! I’m sorry! It tickles!” Megan laughed. Her laughter was so infectious Marc laughed even harder as well, the atmosphere of tension and worry from their situation with the villagers and each other washing away in the glow of her mirth. At last the laughter began to subside with Megan holding her chest as if to restrain the giggles that kept pouring from her lips. Her body was lying on top of Marc’s, who was pinned between her back and the bed, though he was still smiling.

He felt her hand touch his on her stomach, pulling it tighter around her. His arms slid around her waist, pulling her against his stomach as she turned her head to the side to give him a smile out of the corner of her eye.

“I feel a lot better now.” She told him.

“Glad to be of service.” He leaned his head in and pressed his lips against her cheek. She only smiled wider. “But we didn’t get all of your cuts disinfected.”

“I don’t know how much more tickling I can take.” Megan reminded him.

“Well maybe we can-“ Marc was cut off when the doorknob on the front entrance began to jiggle. The siblings were sitting up again within a split second, while Marc went back to rubbing the ointment on Megan’s upper back, where it wouldn’t tickle quite so much, though he could still hear soft giggles coming from her mouth.

The door opened to reveal Jerry standing on the other side, his lips curling into a kind smile. “The doctor tells me you’ll make a full recovery, Megan.”

“Yeah, just need to keep clean for a while.” Megan nodded.

“I’m very glad to hear it. I was afraid there would be complications for a while there.” He told her before shifting his gaze back to Marc. “However, unfortunately, our current mission isn’t yet finished. Illia would like to go back to her village… and I’d like you to escort her, Marc.”

“Of course Jerr, I’d be happy to.” Marc agreed. “Why does she want to go back? Does she want to rejoin them…?”

“No… I want ta save them.” Illia appeared in the doorway in front of Jerry with one hand resting on the doorframe. The sparkles had been washed clean from her body, leaving her skin almost deathly pale, which was kind of creepy with her bright, fiery red hair. She was currently wearing what looked like a deep green version of Megan’s usual spy uniform. “They’re dying, and don’t even know it.”

“Right.” Marc nodded. “You can give me details on the way.”

“What about me? I wanna help too!” Megan complained. “I’m feeling a lot better now, really!”

“Megan, the wounds you sustained are quite serious. I’m afraid I can’t-“ Jerry began, but he was interrupted quickly by Marc.

“I’ll keep an eye on her Jerry, but I think she might be a huge asset at this point.” Marc said. “The doctor said all she needs is ointment and painkillers anyway, he didn’t say she was bedridden.”

“Hmmm… if that’s how you feel, I defer to your judgment.” Jerry told them. “I already have the WOOHP jet refueled and at your disposal.”

“Okay. Sam’s message said they were heading South of the forest, hopefully we can find them without too much difficulty.” Marc slid off the bed and moved to join Illia at the door.

“Just give me a second to get dressed guys, and I’ll be right there!” Megan sprang from the bed, snatched her WOOHP uniform off the counter, and sprinted toward the back of the room, her gown flapping open in the back, much to Jerry and Marc’s chagrin. Marc had half-hoped he and Megan could rest while Sam, Alex, and Clover finished up with the mission… but he wouldn’t turn away from his brothers. Megan would just have to tough it out like he knew she could.


	18. A Loyalty Unsure

“Okay, we know Tony is near the front of the caravan.” Sam muttered in a low voice as she walked with Clover and her apparent girlfriend, Karen. Sam saw fit not to question this once Clover assured her the girl was on their side. Hopefully a large portion of the girls would be, but simply coming out and exposing Mother Marie’s wrongdoing could spark a civil war within the village that could result in a lot of innocent bloodshed in the worst case scenario. A miniature war Lee and Tony would be caught in the middle of.

“Lee is in the wagon back here, and the communication jammer is in the frontmost wagon.” Sam concluded. “I think our best bet is to take Lee and Tony quickly and silently, remove them from the caravan. Maybe if we do this, Mother Marie will stop the caravan to look for them, and split up her forces for the search. At this point, we minimize our risks when we come out and expose her.”

“But how do we know anyone will believe us?” Karen asked worriedly. “Mother Marie is like a mother ta us… even if they wouldn’t agree with her, they won’t just believe she’s doins it without proof. Ah know ah wouldn’t believe it if ah didn’t hear it from Lee himself.”

“So we hide Lee and Tony nearby, and bring them in to explain the situation while Marie’s forces are out looking for them.” Sam replied. “They can’t deny it if it comes from them.”

“Great plan, but um… how exactly do we get them out of here?” Clover asked. “I don’t know if you’ve looked around, but we’re completely surrounded by people. Someone’s gonna notice if we try to move them.”

“I… didn’t think that part through yet.” Sam confessed. “We’ve got to be able to come up with something…”

“Maybe we don’t have ta get both of ‘em outta the caravan, just one of ‘em. Ah bet we could get Tony out, and then if he’s gone long enough Mother Marie would send people she trusts ta look for him.” Karen suggested.

“Yes! Then we can spring Lee on the ones who remain here!” Clover hissed and wrapped her arms around the girl’s neck. “God I love you!” 

Karen blushed and grinned. “Ah love ya too, Chloe.” She pecked Clover on the lips. The whole thing made Sam uncomfortable, but she couldn’t blow their cover by pointing it out.

“Okay, I heard a couple of girls near the front say we’re going to be taking a rest-stop soon. We’ll be able to get Tony away from the caravan then.” Sam said.

“Excellent.” Clover rubbed her hands together. “If everything goes well, we can have this all taken care of by tonight.”

“Heh, yeah… great…” Karen looked slightly less enthusiastic, but her lips were set in a grim line.

“Come on, let’s head up and get ready.” Sam turned to move up towards the front, but she froze in shock when she heard a voice shriek from well behind her.

“Stop! Stop right now!” Sam and Clover whirled around quickly, seeing the girls they’d left behind in the forest charging up toward the caravan. Those girls behind them looked back in surprise, then turned to look toward Sam and Clover with mystified expressions on their faces. Crap, CRAP, Sam thought to herself. It was always the simplest thing forgotten that could ruin a perfectly good plan. They would have been able to end this without any trouble…

“C-Chloe…?” Karen turned to look at Clover in stunned silence. The rearmost wagons came to a stop as people turned to see what was going on, and soon the entire caravan had ground to a halt in the middle of the grassy field. Sam stepped cautiously toward Clover as all eyes turned on them.

“Hey, come on Karen, you know me…” Clover tried an almost halfhearted attempt to keep up their cover.

“Ya get away from mah girlfriend, ya bitch!” The real Chloe raced through the crowd towards them, breaking away from the other girl and charging with an almost animalistic yell.

Clover had always been quick on her feet, but this one stunned even her best friend. She lurched without warning, wrapping her arm around Karen’s throat in a tight sleeper hold and pulling her up against her chest. Chloe slid to a stop on the slick grass, her fists clenching at her sides as Clover’s arm tightened around the stunned girl. More and more villagers were moving to see what was going on, and several already looked ready to attack.

“Okay, take it easy.” Clover warned. “We’re going to talk about this calmly…”

“Ah’m not feeling very calm!” Chloe growled angrily. “Let her go or ah’m gonna put ya six feet under ya damn imposter!”

“Karen, I’m not Chloe… but everything we told you is true.” Clover muttered softly to the petrified girl against her chest. “You heard it from Lee himself, we still need your help to unravel this conspiracy.”

“What’re you sayin’ ta her!? Let her go!” Chloe insisted again. Before she could act however Clover yelped sharply, her knee buckling underneath her as her grip on Karen suddenly came loose. Karen ducked out of the way as Clover began to turn, but the small boy was already whirling toward her front, his leg lashing out to whip across her face. Clover snapped back and stumbled into Sam, who caught her, but was knocked off-balance by the force of the blow, sending them both sprawling across the grass.

“Gah! T-Tony!” Sam looked down at their attacker, who was standing with his fists clenched, looking strangely focused, and more than a little like Bruce Lee in his fighting pose with his shirt off. “Tony, you don’t understand!”

“Leave my friends alone!” Tony warned them.

“Tony, WE’RE your friends!” Realizing their options were rapidly dwindling, Sam decided the direct approach might be the best one at this point. She or Clover could probably take the little boy with little difficulty in a head-to-head fight, but what would that accomplish? They were surrounded by hostile forces all determined to keep Tony here, which was what he would want if they attacked him. They didn’t need to beat him, they had to get through to him.

Her hand fumbled into a hidden pocket on her leather skirt, where she managed to find her handmirror and turn it off. The women standing around them gasped as their heads suddenly began to change, morphing into their more familiar realities. “See? We’re your friends.”

Tony blinked in surprise, looking back and forth between them. “Sam…? Clover…?”

“Yes! Tony, you have to listen to us! They-AUGH!” Sam gasped and struggled as several women leapt on her, grabbing at her arms and pinning her down on the grass. She felt Clover dragged off of her kicking and fighting. Sam tried to speak again, but one pair of hands promptly covered her mouth, pinning her head down on the grass. Her peripheral vision showed Clover similarly subdued by five different women.

“Ah knew you two would turn up again.” Mother Marie moved through the crowd towards them, the other village women moving aside to let her pass. “You’re frustratingly determined, ya know that? And why? What did we ever do ta ya? Don’t ya realize all we want is ta be left alone? Ta live in peace, away from the fears and uncertainties of the outside?” Sam had a few choice words for that, if only she could speak. Instead she could only glare, narrowing her eyes angrily around the hand that held her down.

“What’re you doing? You can’t hurt them, they’re heroes!” Tony approached the spies with a bewildered look on his face. Sam watched with a sharp eye. This could turn bad in a hurry in so many ways it wasn’t even funny. “Sam and Clover don’t deserve to be tied up like this!”

“You saw them attack us, Tony.” The real Chloe pulled Karen close against her side in a protective embrace. “How can you defend them after that?”

“Well…” Tony scratched his head and looked down at the spies worriedly. “Why did they…?”

“Probably the same reason they let your sister die.” Mother Marie insisted. Tony’s eyes shot up towards her like she’d just fired a gunshot at him, his body stiffening. “After all, they are part of the organization that sent you children out.” 

It felt for several moments like Sam’s heart stopped beating. The mind of a child was unpredictable at best, let alone one who’d so recently suffered a great loss, or at least thought he did. If he knew Megan was alive, he would definitely side with them… but she had no way to let him know. Besides, what would happen if he did side with them? Would Mother Marie back down? Or would all Hell break loose?

Tony just stared at her with wide eyes, then turned his gaze down on the two spies. He remained eerily silent, though his body remained tense, as if he was fighting back the urge to either hit something or cry. 

Come on Tony, Sam thought to herself. You may be a kid, but you’re smarter than to fall for this. She’s trying to bend your emotions in her favor, don’t let her turn your hurt towards us. We didn’t do anything.

After several agonizing minutes, Tony turned away from them and simply began to walk away, straight into the arms of a waiting girl with long blonde hair. As she wrapped her arms around the shaking boy, Mother Marie turned to face the spies with a victorious smirk on her lips.

“It looks like the boy has chosen his path.” She lifted her eyes to sweep them across the rest of the villagers, who’d been watching the exchange with tense, nervous expressions. “Ya don’t need ta worry, mah sisters. Being the girls with us, and we will send them to Heaven the moment we are able.” Marie turned to head back toward the front of the caravan. “For now, we can rest here. Everyone relax and be ready ta move again. Chloe, would you make sure they don’t get away to make trouble for us again?”

“Mah pleasure, Mother Marie.” Chloe cracked her knuckles and approached the spies, one leg lashing out viciously into Clover’s side. The girl grunted into the hand covering her mouth, but she couldn’t fight back. “That was fer using mah girlfriend, sicko… lift ‘em up!” She gestured to the other girls, who gripped the spies’ arms to heft them up from the grass, holding them vertically. The hands on their mouths moved aside, but it was too late. Tony had already disappeared with the blonde girl.

“Listen, Mother Marie IS lying to you! Lee’s here, and she’s HUGHN!” Clover doubled over as a fist buried deep into her gut, cutting her off. Damnit Clover, Sam thought to herself. She was only going to get herself hurt…

“Ya wanna talk dirty about Mother Marie now?” Chloe gripped a handful of her hair, yanking her head up to look her in the eye. “Ya don’t know when ta shut yer mouth, do you?” Clover didn’t respond this time, her expression one of fear rather than defiance. “Tie the redhead ta the prisoner wagon… ah’ll keep this one fer a while.”

“Chloe, please, don’t go too far, now…” Karen said softly as she approached to place a hand on her shoulder.

“Ah’m not letting her get away with this. Come on!” Chloe turned to lead the girls toward the back of the caravan. Clover clenched her fists, pulling at her captors, but she couldn’t break free from two at once. Sam wasn’t sure what awaited her once they got to the edge of the caravan… but she was sure Clover wouldn’t come out of it unscathed. Her mouth had gotten her into trouble again… but Sam wasn’t about to stand for it.

As they passed Sam suddenly kicked off the ground, letting her captors hold her up as her legs swept in an arc in front of her, slamming into one of the villager’s heads as she passed. She tumbled to the ground, releasing Clover’s left arm. Sam struggled against her own captors, but they held her even tighter, blows coming down on her back and driving her to the grass on her knees. “GAH!”

“Sammie!” Clover whirled and punched her second captor right across the jaw before she could react, freeing herself from their clutches. She didn’t have time to help Sam however before Chloe leapt in on her, throwing a straight kick Clover barely dodged with a quick twist of her hips. Chloe’s fist darted around toward her head, but Clover jerked her head back, wrapping both arms around Chloe’s to hold her close.

“Yer not getting’ away with this!” Chloe growled.

“Shut up and get outta my face!” Clover gripped her arm and spun around, throwing the girl cleanly over her shoulder. She hit the grass hard and rolled away, but already Clover could see Mother Marie making her way back with several other villagers by her side, even as the ones already there moved to surround her. Within moments escape would be impossible.

“Clover! Get outta here!” Sam howled from the ground, where her arms were being bent painfully over her back, her face being driven into the dirt by the hands gripping the back of her head.

Clover turned to look back at Karen, who was watching with a confused look on her face. She didn’t have time to say anything however, so Clover turned and made a break for the edge of the caravan, racing as fast as she could. Several of the villagers lunged for her, but she leapt and spun through their grasp, darting out into the open fields beyond. A glance back told her several of the villagers were in pursuit, and catching up, but most were remaining behind to deal with Sam, including Mother Marie.

There were five of them after her. Clover was good, but if their tumble in the forest was any indication, so were they. They were pretty fast too, beginning to close the distance as they came over the top of one of the rolling hills, away from sight of the caravan.

One of the girls leapt forward suddenly, one hand grabbing Clover’s hair and yanking her back, opening her up for one of the other girls to slam an elbow into her side. Clover winced and threw a return punch, but the first girl buried a fist in her stomach as the others descended on them tackling Clover and throwing her to the grass. Clover kicked at them, but two of the girls grabbed her legs as one of the others moved up to her head, planting a solid kick right across her cheek.

“HRGH!” Clover’s face jerked back from the force of the blow, but once again two girls grabbed her arms, pinning her down as Chloe moved to stand over her.

“Just like a filthy outsider bitch.” Chloe growled hatefully. “Using an innocent girl, taking advantage of her, just ta try ta take out a village of innocent women.”

“Oh shut up…” Clover huffed breathlessly, then flashed a sly smirk. “By the way… your girlfriend is a Hell of a kisser.” Wrong thing to say, Clover instantly realized.

Chloe’s foot slammed into her side, then again as the kicks began to come in a furious flurry. Clover grunted and doubled over, but the kicks only moved to her unprotected head. “Gonna keep opening that smart mouth?” Another vicious kick snapped Clover’s head to the side. Clover blinked slowly, her vision beginning to get a little fuzzy. Chloe knelt down beside her, grabbing her hair and lifting her head off the grass. “Or are ya gonna just settle down and whimper like the bitch ya are?”

“You people all talk big when you have a posse, bet you wouldn’t mouth off like that if it was just you and me.” Clover glared. She was taken off-guard by a surprise right, the fist slamming across her cheek and knocking her head back against the ground.

“We are SISTERS! We are never alone!” Chloe exclaimed.

“Neither are WE!” A wonderfully familiar voice shrieked in response just before an arm in a yellow suit wrapped around one of the girls pinning down Clover’s arm, twisting the girl around to the grass before stomping heavily on her stomach. The girl rolled away, winded by the blow as Alex whirled back on the others, putting her arms in front of her. “Now get away from my friend!”

“Girls, get-WHA!?” Chloe grunted when Clover grabbed her top, dragging her down until they were face-to-face.

“I said shut up!” Clover slammed her head square into Chloe’s forehead, then thrust her off to the side with her free arm. The girl still holding her other arm leapt to her feet, unsure of what to do, and it was that uncertainty that allowed Clover to spring to her feet and launch an attack of her own while Alex dealt with the last girl, who’d been keeping a rather ineffective watch over the proceedings.

Soon the girl slammed face-down on top of the others in an unconscious pile on the grass just before Alex tossed her own opponent into the pile like they were about to start a bonfire. Alex and Clover exchanged a glance and a broad grin before slapping each other a high-five.

“Oh yeah, we are so totally spies again.” Alex giggled.

“Not quite. Real spies always finish their missions, and we still have to save Sammie and the boys.” Clover pointed out as she took out her Compowder, using it to change back into her red WOOHP jumpsuit. A moment later she glanced up when she heard the faint sound of a jet engine, but there was nothing in the sky above them. Until she noticed a soft shimmer against one single spot in the clouds. “And if I know Jerry, it looks like we just got some reinforcements…”


	19. Parlay

Megan looked down across the plains below from the safety of the cloaked backup WOOHP jet cockpit, blinking in surprise when she saw nothing there. “But… Alex said they were heading south before. Maybe she was lying…?”

“Hmmm…” Marc looked down at the jet’s dashboard, then reached forward to tap a few buttons on the control panel. A small monitor rose from the dashboard, but only spat static at them. “They’re DEFINITELY close by. Transmissions in this area are jammed just like they were around the village. They must have some sort of camouflage technology, which I guess explains how they even escaped the notice of any plane that passed over the area.” He looked over his shoulder back at Illia, who was sitting in one of the seats in the back. “Do you know anything about it?”

“No.” Illia shook her head. “Ah guess that’s something nobody ever mentioned before…”

“So how do we find them? Scanners can’t pick them up, our EyeTechs are useless, and if we go down and search ourselves we’ll walk right into them!” Megan pointed out.

“I don’t know about that… We’ve dealt with cloaking technology before, remember?” Marc told her.

Megan blinked, then gasped in delight. “Of course! Infra-red mode!” Suddenly the windows flashed and the world turned red. Right outside the window spread across the grassy field in a long, winding line were the wagons that had left the village the night before. “There they are! We’ve got them in our sights!”

“Man, you sure got hyper in a hurry. You sound like Tony.” Marc mused.

“I wanna get this over with before my painkillers wear off! Let’s do it!” Megan cackled.

“Hey, ain’t that Alex down there too?” Illia asked from the back. Marc and Megan both moved to the side window, looking down to see two girls running along the grass away from the caravan, waving their hands into the air. It was hard to tell through the infra-red, but they looked like they were wearing WOOHP uniforms.

“It is Alex! And Clover too! Bring us down to pick them up, Marc.” Megan insisted.

“Ay-ay, sis.” Marc turned the jet down towards the ground to meet the spies, who were still moving further away from the caravan, and what looked like a small pile of unconscious girls a ways away from the line. The jet touched down on the grass, signaled only by the muted sound and fierce wind coming from the engines. Until the door opened, and the three kids emerged to meet the two older spies on the grass beside the metal panel.

“Man, are we glad to see you guys!” Alex exclaimed. “Things have gone kind of sour down here. They captured Sammie!”

“Then we might not have much time… normally they won’t kill someone without drowning them in the Lake of Purity, but without the lake around, they may find an excuse to do it without it.” Illia told them. “Ah wouldn’t put it past them, if they’ve gone this far.”

Alex and Clover just stared at her in silence. “We can’t afford to sneak around anymore…” Alex said softly.

“Then we go for the direct approach.” Marc reached out and took Illia’s hand. “They’ll be wanting Illia and I back, we can go straight in and tell them what’s been going on.”

“That’s really risky, what if they try to hurt you?” Megan asked worriedly.

“That’s why we’ll be watching.” Clover looked down at Marc. “Give us ten minutes to take up positions inside the caravan where we can help in a hurry. Use your improved MP Com to signal all of us if it looks like things are going sour.”

“Right.” Marc nodded with a determined look on his face. “With any luck, between Illia and I, we’ll be able to diffuse the situation without any violence, or at least get some on our side to even the field.”

He gasped slightly when Megan wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. “Just be careful, okay?”

Marc smiled and patted her back with his free hand. “I’ll do my best.”

“Okay spies, let’s get in there.” Clover said.

“Here, this should make things easier.” Megan pulled a small package out of one pocket and flicked each of the older spies a small pill. “The Invisibility Pillity should do the trick. Assuming Jerry’s worked all the kinks out.”

Alex looked at it curiously, then popped it into her mouth. Instantly her entire body vanished from sight. “Oh man gadgets have gotten cool!”

“Yeah! When they work…” Megan popped her own pill and vanished as well.

Clover vanished from sight an instant later. “Okay ladies, you’ll take up positions near the front in case they need you.”

“What about you?” Alex asked.

“I’m going to see if I can use this to free Lee. We could definitely use his help here. Okay… let’s go!”

***

Lee kept his eyes shut. He couldn’t stand enclosed spaces, and he’d been lying there in that covered wagon for what felt like an extremely long time. He tried to think of other things. Puppies, kittens with balls of string, making the jumpshot right at the buzzer. It wasn’t long though before his mind suddenly put the puppies and kittens in a tiny closet or the basketball hoop was replaced by a small room with a lock on it. Stupid imagination…

His eyes shot open and he looked down when he noticed the tarp flap over the edge of the wagon, flipping up to let the light in for just a brief instant before falling back into place. “Oh great… now I’m hallucinating…” He groaned. “That’s just what I need…”

“Relax, you’re not hallucinating. I’m just a friendly ghost.” A familiar voice chuckled as something tugged at the tight metal ropes that bound Lee on the bottom of the wagon.

“Hey, I know that voice… Clover?” Lee blinked in surprise as the ropes snapped off of his arms and legs, allowing him to sit up and rub his sore joints. “What’s going on? Is Jerry on his way?”

“Nothing that drastic, we’re going to try to resolve all of this peacefully right now.” Clover whispered back. “But we need to be on alert in case a fight breaks out, and we need you with us in case that happens.”

“I’ll do whatever I can.” Lee nodded as he rubbed some feeling back into wrists numb from being bounds together for so long. “What do you need me to do?”

“Hopefully nothing… but we’ll be ready just in case…”

***

Sam didn’t struggle as she was carried toward the front of the caravan, holding her head up high as she walked with a firm, steady stride. The women surrounding her didn’t let off their guard, however, offering no avenue of escape. That was just fine with Sam, she knew Clover was out there, and Clover wouldn’t let anything happen to her. The various villagers watched with mixed gazes of curiosity, fear, and confusion. They parted to make room for the prisoner until they reached the front-most wagon, which had the covered machine on it, and on which Mother Marie was standing with a stern look on her face. Sam took note of Tony standing close by, leaning against the girl who had comforted him before.

“We are a merciful people, outsider.” Mother Marie told her in a soft voice. “We don’t wish ta harm anybody, but sometimes the world outside forces us ta do things we would rather not do.” Sam didn’t respond, keeping her breath calm and steady. Mother Marie turned to look around at the villagers gathered around. “My sisters… times have changed in the world, and our secret becomes ever more difficult ta maintain from the outside world. The outside world that damned our mothers, destroyed their lives, and doomed so many innocents.”

“That’s pretty funny, coming from a murderer.” Sam replied stoically. “You think your innocents are worth more than those born outside? Your little girls deserve to live while the rest can rot in a river?”

“The kind of mind-games played by the evil ones.” Mother Marie showed no trace of a smile. “Ya’ve proven yerself too dangerous ta allow ta travel with us.”

“Don’t justify your crime.” Sam narrowed her eyes. “There’s no justification for trying to drown a twelve year old girl.” She could hear several villagers gasp, but most gave derisive snorts.

“You have no proof, outsider.” Marie smiled disarmingly. “You seek to destroy our unity… but our unity is what gives us strength.”

“When we’re united.” A smaller voice came from the back. Sam managed to crane her neck as the rest of the women turned to look behind them, towards the back of the caravan. A pale, sickly looking girl in a purple WIOOHP uniform was approaching hand-in-hand with Marc, her eyes focused squarely on Marie’s. “Are we united, Mother? Or have we been led down a path our foremothers always warned us never ta walk?”

“Illia?” Mother Marie stepped down from her wagon, her eyes training on the young girl in disbelief. “What has happened? You no longer have the Goddess’ blessing…”

“Blessing? That blessing would kill us all.” Illia marched forward, looking around at the villagers. “The water was not a Goddess’ blessing, it was poison! Poison that would kill us all before our thirtieth birthday!”

“That water is our greatest blessing, Illia.” Marie gave no ground, marching forward. “Ya’ve been ta the outside… ya’ve been corrupted by the evil.”

Illia whirled on the rest of the villagers with a white-hot fury in her eyes. “How many of ya knew this? How many knew that ya were damning us all ta die so early? At what age are we told we’re gonna die so young?”

“Illia, that’s quite enough.” Marie warned her sharply.

“No, it’s not.” Illia released Marc’s hand and marched forward. “Yer right, ah have been ta the outside world… and it’s nothing like we’ve always been told it was. The outside world has changed… and so have we. We were never killers before.”

“Illia…” Mother Marie heaved a slight, wistful sigh. “Ah wish ah could’ve protected ya from the outside… ah wish none of mah sisters were ever taken… but wishes cannot change what’s been done.” Marie stepped forward, several of the older girls moving towards them, the ones behind them moving up as well to box in the two preteens. The younger girls scattered around on the fringes were watching with nervous eyes.

Illia stood her ground, setting her lips in a grim, determined line. “Ah have a wish too, Mother.” She turned to look at the girls gathered around them. “Ah wanna see the world… ah don’t wanna die before I’m thirty, and ah don’t want ta see mah sisters stuck here when we know NOTHING about what’s out there!”

“What’s out there… is not fer us.” Mother Marie’s voice grew darker. “It never has been… it’s not safe, it’s not right.”

“We’ll decide that.”What do y’all say? Do ya wanna die? Ta know that, as young as we are, we’ve almost lived half our lives already? Because of THIS.” Illia gestured to a girl in the crowd, who gasped and stepped back in surprise. Illia looked around at the girls who shrank back away from her uncertainly. Illia’s expression darkened as the girls slowly began to look away, looking anywhere but at her.

This wasn’t good, Marc thought to himself. If none of the girls came around, this could turn into a brawl… and even with their backup, they had little chance of victory if SOMEONE didn’t side with them.

“Serah.” Marc stepped forward, almost desperate for a way to diffuse the situation. “You’ve spent the last two days with Tony… don’t tell me you don’t feel for what he’s been going through.”

“Of course ah do…” Serah glared at him, wrapping her arms around the younger boy, who looked bewildered and blank. “Ah know what it’s like ta lose a sister.”

“Well he lost almost his sister because of her.” Marc pointed his finger squarely at Mother Marie. Tony’s eyes seemed to gloss over for a moment, the words sinking into his mind.

“What? Ya can’t be serious.” The girl standing beside Mother Marie exclaimed angrily. “How dare ya accuse Mother Marie of cold-blooded murder! She would never do something like that!”

“It’s true.” Illia insisted calmly. Tony’s eyes widened slightly, staring at her with wide, frightened eyes. “Mother Marie is a killer… she’s betrayed the principals of our foremothers… and we can’t let her get away with it.”

The other women looked furious, but Tony just stepped right into the middle of the fray, turning to look up at Marc with wide eyes. Even the enraged Mother Marie stopped to look at him in surprise. “Almost…?”

“That’s right T.” Marc smiled down at him warmly. “Megan’s okay.” Tony stared at him in disbelief, and it almost looked like his body was starting to shake. “She’s okay. I promise.” Marc assured him.

“N- no no… she can’t…” Tony backed away from him slowly as tears crept into his eyes.

“What? Tony, what’s wrong?” Marc asked.

“You said she was gone… you said she was dead…” Tony’s voice wavered uncertainly.

“He’s lying… he’s using his own sister’s memory ta try ta break us.” Mother Marie stepped forward angrily. “Stop his lies!”

“Crap…” Marc stepped back as the older girls approached, their fists balling threateningly. Why did nothing ever go the easy way?


	20. The Meaning of Freedom

It was amazing how quickly things could change. The evening before, Illia had been asleep in her bed safe and warm, and Marc had been safe in his guest hut with his brothers where he could keep an eye on them. Now they were both scrambling to escape the other villagers, ducking through their arms with their smaller bodies amid the shouts of anger and betrayal. The younger girls were shying away from the conflict, holding one another, and Serah even rushed to wrap her arms around Tony, who was simply standing in place, shaking uncontrollably.

“This isn’t good, we didn’t turn anyone to our side!” Marc hissed. “Even if the other spies revealed themselves, there are way too many of them!”

“My thoughts exactly!” Illia hissed back as they skidded toward one of the wagons nearby. Marc dropped to the grass in a swift baseball slide, slipping right underneath the wagon on the grass slick from the long rainfall. Illia dove under the wagon beside him, scrambling on hands and knees to the center of the wagon where the much larger girls would have difficulty reaching. They moved to head out the other side, but the wagon was already completely surrounded before they even made it halfway there.

Marc whipped out his MP-Com, quickly typing a message to Megan’s. ‘Mission failed, abort! Get out of here!’ No sooner had he sent the message than the wagon was overturned by the combined efforts of several of the village women. The wood cracked and splintered against the grass, spilling a small pile of fruits onto the ground. 

“Ya’ve done enough damage, Illia.” Mother Marie approached the two tweens with a solemn look on her face. Marc and Illia stepped away from her, moving closer together and sharing a sharp glare. “The village is all that has ever mattered.”

***

‘Mission failed, abort! Get out of here!’ Megan looked down at the message flashing on her MP Com’s screen, then rolled her eyes. “As if…” She peered out from behind one of the covered wagons nearby, where she saw Marc and Illia huddled together surrounded by the older women of the village. Almost all of them had raced to catch the two tweens, leaving the younger girls beyond unwatched except for the two older women who continued to hold Sam down on the ground, ensuring she couldn’t escape on her own.

Tony looked like he was shaking, and his face was full of a strange mixture of fear and trepidation. These last few days had been really rough on him, but he had to get into the action here. Marc, Illia, and Sam were all doomed if he didn’t. Maybe if he sided with them, the rest of the girls would revolt as well. It was their only chance…

So Megan broke away from the wagon, charging invisibly across the field as fast as her legs could carry her. She gasped when she suddenly saw her pink glove slowly becoming visible. “Come on, a few more seconds…” Megan gritted her teeth, heading straight for the women holding onto Sam.

“What the heck is-HUGHN!” The woman on the left was knocked clean to the ground when Megan buried her shoulder in her gut. Megan pushed off of her, shoving her roughly to the grass as her entire torso became visible.

“You!? Yer-AUGH!” The other girl yelped as Sam, with her arm now free, spun on her and wrapped an arm around her throat.

“I suggest you don’t move…” Sam yanked a bit tighter and moved toward Megan, turning to glance back at the other older women, who were still struggling to contain Marc and Illia. “I hope you have a plan, Megan.”

“Working on it.” Megan whirled on the girls, who were backing away in surprise and nervousness, and stared down at her little brother, who stood on the grass as if transfixed by something he was at once thrilled and terrified to see. She stepped forward as the rest of her body faded into view, giving him a gentle smile. “Hey little T, did you miss me?”

“A-are you a gh-ghost…?” Tony backed away from her slowly.

“Of course not.” Megan stopped a few feet in front of him, putting her hands in front of her. “Don’t be silly. I’m alive… hurt, but alive.”

“N-no way, it’s not possible, it-AUGH!” Tony yelped when his sister suddenly grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him into a tight hug. “It’s not…”

“I’m fine, Tony. I promise.” She stroked his back softly, kneeling to pull him tightly up against her. “See? If I was a ghost, I couldn’t hug you, could I?”

“M-Megan… Megan!” Tony wrapped his arms around her suddenly, burying his face in her shoulder. She could feel his tears on her WOOHP uniform. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, resting her cheek against the side of his head.

“I’m okay, Tony… I’m okay…” Megan fought through her own tears to force a smile.

“Hey! What…” Mother Marie’s voice trailed off as she and the rest of the older villagers approached the scene. They had Illia and Marc bound with thick ropes, draped over the shoulders of some of the larger girls.

Sam tightened her grip on her hostage’s throat. “Stop right there.”

“Ya can’t…” Mother Marie’s gaze turned on Megan, who’d pulled away from Tony far enough to glare back at her over her shoulder.

“Who says we can’t?” Megan stood up slowly, putting her hands on Tony’s shoulders to keep him close as she turned to face Mother Marie. “Hello… they tell me your name’s Mother Marie. I didn’t get your name last time we met with my head under the water.”

“Close yer mouth, girl.” Mother Marie warned in a dark tone.

“I don’t think I will.” Megan gripped Tony’s shoulder, pulling him tightly up against her side. “After what you’ve put us all through, you deserve to rot in a WOOHP holding cell for the rest of your life. Are you going to keep lying about it? You seemed so proud of yourself at the time.”

“Ya… little…” One of the women beside Mother Marie stepped forward, but the leader held one arm out to stop her in her tracks. Megan’s eyes narrowed, holding those of the older woman in a long, tense stare that almost felt like a battle in itself.

“Ah never had any ill will towards ya, girl.” Mother Marie said.

“That’s not exactly comforting.” Megan spat back. “Actions are more important than words, and all you’ve done is lie and manipulate my brothers.” Megan held Tony against her side tightly. “You told them I was dead to keep them here. You tried to actually kill me to keep them here. What would you have done with Lee taking him like that, anyway? Were you planning to start FORCING him to have sex with you?“

The younger girls all gasped and turned to look at Mother Marie, who still said nothing. “Your ancestors ran away from their homes to escape servitude… to escape their RAPE. And what are you going to do here, Mother Marie? What!?” She spat the word ‘mother’ like a curse, and all eyes turned on the older woman, who still remained silent. Illia and Marc were watching silent from the arms of their captors, unable to speak with the thick ropes in their mouths.

“Ah will protect mah people. Ah will protect mah sisters. Ah will protect our future.” Mother Marie replied with a calm, grim determination. “No matter what.”

“Then yer blind, Mother…” One of the older girls stepped out of the crowd, moving over towards Megan and turning to look back at her. “Ya cannot give us that kind of future… then we become the men, the ones who subjugate and hurt others fer their own purpose. Do ya think that was why the Goddess freed us? So we could become that?”

“If ah’m ta be punished fer this, then so be it!” Mother Marie snapped back, turning to look around at the other girls. “None of ya know what the Mother goes through, what ah have ta do day in and day out. The burdens ah carry!” She turned to look back at Megan with narrowed eyes. “If all our secrets are gonna be laid bare, then so be it… but mah sisters won’t turn against me. They’ll understand that the future of our children is the most important thing!”

“We ain’t gonna have a future if we become this, Mother Marie.” The woman shot back in a soft, but commanding tone. “And neither will any of our children. We won’t let them be born inta that, will we girls?”

The rest of the young women on the side moved in towards them, shaking their heads and mumbling in agreement, even as the older girls moved to back Mother Marie. Their eyes looked hurt, angry, betrayed at the act of rebellion. The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife, and Megan knew it was only a matter of seconds before an all-out brawl erupted between the two sides. If that happened, how many of the innocent girls would be hurt? How many would be killed in the melee?

Before any of the girls could strike however, a far smaller form threw itself across the grass, ripping away from Megan’s grip with an almost animalistic growl. “Tony!? Wait!” Megan could barely speak before the boy had reached Mother Marie, leaping into the air in front of her as cold, glittering steel flashed into his hands. The Freeze Disk flashed open, spinning razor-sharp blades appearing around the edges as it swung in a vicious downward arc so fast it vanished into a flash of silver light flying from his hand.

Several of the girls around Mother Marie moved to intercept him, but they were far too late. Even Marie herself didn’t have time to react before the blade struck home, flying right past her head only inches from decapitating her, slicing straight through her long hair to slam into the grass just behind her. The severed strands of hair floated toward the grass amid the dead, stunned silence as Tony landed in a crouch. His breath was heavy as his eyes turned to stare up into Marie’s face with an unbridled fury Megan hoped never to see again.

“I hate you…” Tony was practically shaking as he spoke in a low growl, barely in control of his voice. “I don’t care why you did it… I don’t care what you think! You tried to kill my sister! I HATE YOU!” He shrieked wildly at the top of his lunch, his eyes boring into hers as if he could melt her brain through her eyeballs. Mother Marie stared back, so taken aback by the force of the scream that she actually took a step back on the grass.

“What are you going to do, Mother Marie?” Megan walked up behind Tony, wrapping her arms around his torso in a tight embrace. His entire torso was so tense it was like hugging a mannequin, but she didn’t release him. “You’re not going to bring Tony with you without taking him by force… it’s over. You can’t keep doing this.”

“So many generations… would just be lost.” Mother Marie said.

“Sometimes it’s for the best. You can leave this place, see the world outside.” Megan squeezed Tony. “Illia said you chose my brothers because they’re exceptional… and they are… but they’re not the only good people out there. They’re not the only ones who accept women as equals… mostly.” She gave her little brother a wry, affectionate look. “I know why you hide… I know why you’re scared. But you accomplish nothing with this. Stop hurting your daughters, stop killing them off slowly every single generation… when they can go out there, find their own boys, make their own mistakes, and live as long, as happy as they can. They’re not free here… and isn’t freedom what your mothers wanted for you in the first place?”

Mother Marie looked around at the rest of the village, none of whom looked certain. They were all looking among themselves, mumbles of confusion bubbling across the rolling grassland. In a few moments, her gaze turned back to Tony, who was still giving her the look of absolute, unwavering death, his ears closed to everything else.

“All ah’ve done… was what mah own mother taught me. It was the most important thing that could be done. Ah had ta be sure we would continue…” Mother Marie seemed to stumble slightly over her own words, but Tony’s glare was unyielding. After a few moments, after a few breaths, Mother Marie slowly raised her hands and lowered herself to her knees in submission. “Let the rest of the girls go… any wrong that was done, was by mah hand, mah order.”

The rest of the girls tensed, and one stepped forward beside her.

“No, ah won’t let ya take her alone.” She too got down on her knees. “Ah knew about it all, take me with her.”

“Michelle, ya didn’t-“ Mother Marie looked in surprise.

“Of course ah did.” Michelle looked back at her with a soft smile.

Sam slowly released her hostage, who scurried back into the crowd around them as Sam approached the two women. “I’m sure they’ll go easy on you, since you’re turning yourselves in.” She reached into her belt for two pairs of handcuffs, cuffing each woman in turn.

The women behind Marie and Michelle set down Marc and Illia, cutting them loose and taking off their gags. Illia looked back up at them with a polite smile, then turned a broader grin on Marc, but his attention was already elsewhere.

“Megan! Tony!” Marc rushed across the field to join his two siblings, wrapping an arm around each of them. “Man that was so close, I almost thought that was going to explode…”

“I know, but it’s over now. We did it.” Megan couldn’t keep the grin off of her face. “Hey, don’t we have a brosef missing? Where’s L-HRCK!” She jerked in surprise when a pair of powerful arms wrapped around her from behind, pulling her up against a solid barrel chest.

“Megan… Megan!” Lee could only exclaim in glee as he held her tightly against his chest. “Oh man, I can’t… believe…”

“Hey, it’s okay big guy.” Megan patted his arm as she squirmed in his grip. “Just please… still sore…”

“Oh man, sorry!” Lee released her abruptly, letting her sway back onto her own feet. “I was just going crazy, thinking I’d never see you again, and the last thing we did was fight and I didn’t even know what we were fighting about…”

Megan blushed a light shade of pink. “I don’t remember what it was about… but I’m sure it was silly.” She wrapped him in a tight hug, smiling even wider when Tony and Marc joined this one as well, leaving the four siblings huddled in a comforting ball in the center of the field. “I’m so glad this is all over… I missed you guys so much.” She smiled even more broadly, surprised to find tears stinging her eyes. “I missed you…”

***

“Yaaay!” Sam felt Alex’s lithe form hit her side in a sudden attack-hug, spinning around her before landing on the grass. “Megan did it! She actually put an end to it without anyone getting hurt!”

“I know! I can’t believe it.” Sam hugged her back with a grin, seeing Clover coming up behind her.

“That was one of the ballsiest things I’ve ever seen you do Sam.” Clover couldn’t suppress a grin. “Taking a hostage? I never would’ve thought you had it in you.”

“I had to think on my feet.” Sam replied nonchalantly. “I’ve got to admit, it almost felt… good, to be under the gun again. I don’t know if I’d throw it all away to come back to it though.”

“Yeah, I can understand that.” Clover rubbed the back of her neck. “I still kind of want to do SOMETHING for WOOHP though…” She trailed off.

“Hey… you do whatever you want to, Clover. It’s your life.” Sam told her. Clover smiled back more earnestly until they heard the sound of a huge jet-helicopter passing overhead. “Is that a WOOHP helijet?”

“I sent the Carrier Pigeon after Jerry, just in case.” Clover looked up, shielding her eyes from the sun. “He’s not going to be able to see us unless we disable the cloaking field, though.”

Sam reached into her pocket and took out a small pen-looking object. “One easy way to take it down and celebrate at the same time.” She joked with a smile.

“Wait.” Alex took her hand, taking the cylinder from her, then turned to approach the pale girl in the purple WOOHP uniform near Mother Marie, who looked up at Alex’s approach. “Here Illia… I think if anyone should do this, it’s you.”

“What is it?” Illia looked at the device curiously as she took it from Alex.

“It’ll put an end to the way you used to live. Permanently.” Alex assured her with a smile. Illia stared up at her for a moment, then looked down at the pen, gripping it firmly and putting her thumb over the button on the end. She hesitated for only the barest moment before bringing her thumb down, pressing the button firmly into the pen. The reaction was immediate.

Fire erupted in the distance with a BOOM that made the ground quake. The women around them screamed in surprise and fear until they realized it wasn’t close enough to hurt them. Even the Clark children had jerked out of their reunion to watch the fireball rise into the air at the front of the caravan. It was only a few more moments before the fire began to die and pieces of metal began to rain down like so many shards of a life that could never be reclaimed.

“No going back now.” Alex said with a gentle smile.

“Good.” Illia nodded. “I don’t want to die… not before I get to live.”

Marc glanced over at the pale girl, then lowered his gaze to his slightly smaller sister. She was looking back out of the corner of her eye, with a soft half-smile on the corner of her lip.

“Me neither.” She whispered to him with a twinkle in her eye.


	21. The Choices We Make

__

Dear Clarks:

I’m sorry I haven’t gotten into contact with you before now, but our schooling has been pretty rigorous. Jerry’s been making sure we’re brought up to speed on all of the wonders and advances of modern technology so that we may hope to fit in wherever we go. It’s been fun learning so much in such a short amount of time, and it’s only recently they started teaching us how to use computers. Since Jerry gave me my own e-mail, I thought I would let you know how things are going, since you’re directly responsible for all of this.

Mother Marie is serving her sentence for attempted murder… but at the same time Jerry’s been making sure both she and her wife are being reeducated for modern times. He’s a great man, I think. It’s like he knows exactly what we need. For instance, tomorrow a bunch of the villagers and I are going to be taken to a small town so we can see people firsthand. I’m a little scared, the village has always been tiny, but now I know why and I want to get away from that.

Our pale skin is something that came from generations of living with little direct contact with sunlight, since the water reflected all the light away from us. It will mark our people for generations to come, but I don’t really mind. It’s a reminder of what we were, and there’s nothing wrong with that, as long as we don’t mind moving forward.

I hope you guys are doing well. I look forward to being able to come visit you again, I learned so much from you. Especially you, Marc. I hope this letter finds you well, and the future holds nothing but light.

Love: Illia

Megan leaned back on her bed with a broad, toothy grin on her lips, regarding the screen of her laptop with a mixture of pride and fondness. It had been two weeks since the incident that had nearly claimed her life. Tony seemed to still be coming to grips with her miraculous resurrection, the poor kid had easily been the hardest hit by losing his older sister. It was sweet the way he clung to her now, but it did get kind of annoying on occasion.

Thanks to Jerry’s usual diversion tactics, their parents had barely noticed the week they’d spent absent from their home. Still, she wasn’t sure if it was just her own way of thinking that changed or what, but it seemed like there was something warmer in their demeanor. Something more inviting. It was like she couldn’t help but treasure every moment she spent with her dear family. It was so easy to lose them at a moment’s notice…

She turned her gaze towards the door as Marc stepped into the room. She invited him in warmly with a smile, and he closed the door behind him, approaching her bed. “You got the e-mail too?” Megan asked.

“Yeah. It’s good to hear they’re going to be okay.” Marc sat down on the bed beside her. “There are so many ways that all could have ended badly… it’s almost a miracle nobody was killed. If you believe in that sort of thing.”

“After what I went through, how could I not?” Megan reached out to him and wrapped her arm around his waist, pulling him further onto the bed, up against her side. “Far as I can figure… I should be dead.”

“Logically, yeah.” Marc leaned back against her headboard, slipping an arm around her torso to pull her against his side. Her head leaned up against his shoulder comfortably, her eyes staring up into his own. “But… miracle or not, I’m not going to question you still being here. There are some things that just aren’t worth examining, scientifically.”

“That’s pretty bold, coming from you.” Megan told him softly.

“Perhaps… but I don’t need to know WHY you’re still around to be glad that you are.” Marc told her as a soft blush spread across his cheeks. Megan grinned back with a return blush, her eyes moistening as she stared up into his. How many people would call this wrong? Probably everyone. Did it really matter? She supposed not. It was considered wrong now… there was once a time when it wasn’t, and there might again be a time when it wasn’t. Were they going to let the mores of today tell them what to do?

“I love you, Marc.” Megan told him softly as she scooted a little closer. “More than I should…”

“I love you too Megan…” Marc replied. “As much as I can.” He smiled widely. She leaned closer to him, one hand moving to his shoulder as their lips neared… then suddenly the bed seemed to swing to one side, dumping them both end-over-end down a long, spiraling metal tube.

The end of their journey was met with a thump and a loud ‘HUFF!”, as Megan smacked right onto her back on the pink beanbag, which quickly reformed itself into the shape of a couch. She groaned and reached up to rub her head, feeling Marc’s weight pressed down on her front. “Ugh, darnit, Jerry really got us good that time.”

“Yeah, no kidding…” Marc agreed as he pushed himself up, finding himself face-to-face with her. He stared down at her, as she stared back, blinking slowly.

“Um… what the Heck are you two doing?” Lee asked from the other side of the couch.

The tweens both shot up on the couch instantly, sitting side-by-side, facing away from each other. “Nothing!” They replied in perfect unison. Lee continued to stare at them strangely, but Tony didn’t seem to notice anything amiss, leaping from the back of the couch to the floor in front of Jerry’s desk.

“So what’s the mission boss-man?” Tony beamed, then scratched his head in confusion when he realized Jerry’s big, comfortable chair was pointing the other way. “Hey, you can’t just bring us here and ignore us!”

“Just going for the dramatic flare.” A strangely feminine voice replied moments before the chair whirled around. The four Clark kids gasped as Clover leaned forward and resting her elbows on the desk. “Heya spies, it’s good to see you.” She gave them a wide, warm smile, wearing a sleek black tuxedo top over a finely pressed pearl-white blouse.

“Clover!? What’re you doing in Jerry’s office?” Lee demanded.

“Are you the new WOOHP Director or something?” Marc added.

“Director in Training.” Clover replied proudly. “It’s a steadier job than being a field-agent, and a lot of the work can be done from home. I won’t take over full-time until Jerry retires anyway, so it works beautifully for me.” She stood up and did a little twirl beside her desk, a pitch black formal skirt swaying down around her knees. “Besides, someone has to make this job look good!”

“You sure do!” Tony was practically drooling, though he quickly wiped his lip. Megan huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, but bit her tongue.

“Well, it’s… nice to see you decided what you wanted to do.” Marc said. “What about Sam and Alex? Are they in training too?”

Clover clapped her hands together. “Silence and order in Clover’s office, you have a mission to prep for.” Clover winked and pressed a button on her desk, lowering several gadgets in front of the junior spies. “There was a burglary in progress at an international technology firm, you spies get to figure out who did it and get this tech back. It’s kind of a big deal, since this is one of the most advanced tech firms in the world.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll get to the bottom of this. WE are the best spies in WOOHP history, you know.” Megan stood up and snatched her gadgets from the mechanical arms in front of them with a sly smile on her lips.

“I’m sure you will. Just try not to make us come after you again, hm?” Clover smiled teasingly. Megan shot her a dark look, but it was cut short when the floor once again flew out from underneath the spies, sending them tumbling, screaming, into the darkness.

Clover cackled to herself as she plopped back into Jerry’s chair with a broad grin on her face. “Now I know why Jerry loved doing that so much…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finished in November 2010, this is one of my newer stories in this archive. I spent a lot of time as part of the "Totally Spies" fandom, something about the silliness and the serious way in which the characters regarded everything just made me love it. Its sequel-series, "The Amazing Spiez", was somewhat less amazing, but I still found some joy in it.
> 
> This is also one of the only major stories I've ever written that addressed the topic of incest, if not the only one. I've written a bunch of incest-themed stories before, don't get me wrong, but this was relatively a big story to have such a thing in it. I don't remember what it was that made me want to do it, but it's a topic that deserves to be addressed, I think.
> 
> Anyway, yeah. One of my lesser-regarded stories from one of the lesser-regarded fandoms, but still one I have a bit of a soft spot for. I hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
